IS RIVERS CREAtING - The Rivers School

Student News
earning awards in all of the different disciplines
we teach,” says Art Department chair
David Saul. “It clearly demonstrates the
passion and energy of the Rivers faculty
working with our student artists.”
On Campus
Winter play How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Accolades
Rivers Musicians
Take Home Jazz Awards
In January, both the jazz combo and big
band at The Rivers School were selected
from a pool of more than 100 schools in
the Northeast to compete in the first annual
Charles Mingus Competition at the
Manhattan School of Music (MSM) in New
York. The two groups were each among the
five finalists in their respective categories at
the event, which took place as part of a
three-day “Mingus Summit” at MSM in
February.
Casey Berman ’09 and Tom Chalmers
’10 both received individual awards for
Outstanding Soloist during the summit.
Fall musical Much Ado About Nothing
“I wanted to personally congratulate
you for the fine work you’ve done with your
students,” wrote Sue Mingus, the widow of
the acclaimed jazz composer for whom the
festivities are named, to Rivers jazz director
Philippe Crettien. Mingus commended
the school for having both of its groups
chosen from a competitive applicant pool
consisting predominantly of large music
performance schools.
“It’s great to be honored by Ms. Mingus
and such an esteemed school as MSM,”
says Crettien. “This truly is a huge achievement
for Rivers.”
22 Rivers Students Honored
with Boston Globe Art Awards
In February, 22 students from Rivers were
honored with Boston Globe Scholastic Art
Awards. Selected from more than 5,200
applicants across Massachusetts, Rivers students
won a total of 13 Honorable Mentions
and four Silver Key awards, while five
students won the prestigious Gold Key
Awards—Adrienne Anderson ’09, Shylana
Roman ’09, and Charlie Rugg ’09, Page
Cochran ’12, and Katherine Mecke ’13.
Gold and Silver Key art was on display in
Boston during the month of February, after
which the Gold Key pieces traveled to New
York City to be juried on the national level.
In all, more than half of the school’s entries
were honored in the competition.
“These awards are a testament to the depth
of the arts program at Rivers, with students
Rivers Goes Global
with International Dinner
In November, Rivers held its fifth annual
International Night in the Berwind Auditorium.
With food, music, and art from 16
distinct cultures, the event featured Greek
dancing and performances by the Rivers
jazz combo and the Afro-Mediterranean
musical group Atlas Soul. More than 200
students, parents, faculty, and staff attended
the festivities, representing countries that
include Guatemala, Indonesia, Ethiopia,
and Columbia, among many others.
Rivers Gives Back
with Thanksgiving Food Drive
The Rivers School Council organized a
successful campus food drive the week before
Thanksgiving, with several hundred
pounds of food collected and distributed to
the Natick Food Pantry, the Weston Senior
Center Food Pantry, and A Place to Turn in
Natick, among other places.
International Night
• Riparian • Spring 2009