Explore Our Curriculum

Department

Performing Arts

Rivers provides Middle School students with unique opportunities and experiences in music, dance, and drama. Ensemble experiences are a fundamental part of any student’s education.

All Middle School students are required to participate in one of four music ensembles (select mixed chorus, chamber orchestra, jazz ensemble, or instrumental music ensemble), dance, or theater arts; students who have no experience in performing arts may take Performing and Creative Arts. Students are placed in an appropriate ensemble after completing an audition with the performing arts faculty in the spring. In addition, Middle School students have the opportunity to receive instruction on a variety of instruments at The Rivers School Conservatory. Lessons typically last 30-45 minutes. Instructors expect students to practice daily. A separate brochure from The Conservatory describes the range of offerings and applicable fees. Private lessons are usually scheduled around sports practices on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons. All sixth and seventh-grade students learn public speaking skills as part of their humanities curricula, and eighth-grade students are required to write and deliver formal speeches. Students are required to take a drama class during sixth grade.

Drama, Grade 6

This course introduces students to the building blocks of theater performance skills through movement, improvisation, and scene work. It is designed to develop imagination, creativity and an ensemble-based experience. The class culminates with the collaborative creation of an original script which is performed for an audience of the students’ peers. This course is taken during either the first or second semester, in addition to the student’s Performing Arts block class (see below). During the student’s other 6th grade semester, they will take Visual Arts, Grade 6 in place of this course.
Middle School Chorus

This course is designed to accommodate students with a broad range of prior singing experiences. In this course, students rehearse and perform choral music in unison and multiple parts from diverse traditions and historical periods. As a result, students will develop skills related to ensemble singing, including creative collaboration, blend, intonation, and singing in various languages and styles. Additionally, students will build a holistic understanding of their vocal instrument and develop confidence performing in front of others. Though sight singing and music notation are part of the curriculum, prior experience reading music is not a prerequisite. Students are assessed on their in-class participation, completion of all homework assignments, overall growth and progress, and participation in major concerts. Voice placement for this course occurs in May.
Middle School Chamber Orchestra

This course is designed for students who have achieved an intermediate or advanced level of mastery on a string, wind, or keyboard instrument who are interested in furthering their study and performance of ensemble music selected from the Renaissance through the present day. The development of ensemble playing skills (such as intonation, articulation, style, phrasing, and expression) is emphasized. Students also work in smaller groups with string, wind, and piano specialists to develop individual performance and practice techniques. A broader understanding of music and culture is explored through listening, discussion, projects, and repertoire choices. Students are assessed based on their preparation, in-class participation, written homework, recorded playing assignments, and major performances. The ensemble performs at festivals, school concerts, and other school functions. Students audition for this ensemble in May. Private lessons are required.
Middle School Big Band

This course is designed for students with advanced instrumental experience. Students study a variety of contemporary music styles, improvisation, and theory, and are introduced to standard jazz repertoire as well as jazz arrangements of contemporary repertoire. The ensemble performs at festivals and school concerts. Students audition for this ensemble in May.
Middle School Beginning Jazz

This course is offered to students who wish to learn to play the trumpet, trombone, or saxophone as well as beginning guitar, bass, piano, and percussion players. This class is also suitable for students with less than two years of experience on these instruments. Students study rudimentary music reading skills and advance as far as learning to play jazz and blues solos. The class focuses on developing the individual skills of each student on their chosen instrument with a goal of preparing students to join the Middle School Big Band or a jazz ensemble in the Upper School. Students in this class will perform at one or more of the Rivers School Jazz Concerts during the year, as well as at the Middle School Arts Night in the spring.
Middle School Theater Arts

Students explore the tools of the actor: the body, voice, and emotional and sensory experience. They strive to bring these tools to bear on the work of the actor on stage. Emphasis is placed on the work of the performance ensemble: respect, trust-building, timing, and awareness within the group. The efforts of the individual actor and the work of the ensemble culminate in performances that give students a chance to experience both the rehearsal process and a theatrical event.
Middle School Musical Theater

This course will focus on developing the disciplines of singing, acting, and dancing to create a dynamic musical theater performance. Students will strengthen these elements through Musical Theater repertoire, interpreting songs both musically and dramatically while incorporating staging and choreography. Students will broaden their knowledge of many musical theater styles while exploring various rehearsal tools and techniques in pursuit of an authentic performance. The final performance will include an ensemble scene and song. Musical Theater will be an audition-based course.

FACULTY

Daniel Shaud

Performing Arts Department Chair, Dir. of MS Chamber Ensemble and US Chamber Orchestra

339-686-2380

Oberlin College - BA
Oberlin Conservatory - BM
New England Conservatory of Music - MM

d.shaud@rivers.org

2002
Bio
Dan Shaud is co-director of the Upper School orchestra and Middle School chamber ensemble and is the coordinator for the Conservatory Program. In addition, he teaches music theory, solfège, and chamber music classes and has been the horn instructor for The Rivers School Conservatory since 1999. He is an active freelancer on the horn in the Boston area and is also a church organist. He earned a BA and BM from Oberlin College and Conservatory and an MM from New England Conservatory.
Julia Auster-Hogan '06

Grade 7 Dean, French, Drama, Peer Mentoring

339-686-4518

Skidmore College - BS
Union Graduate College - MEd

j.auster-hogan@rivers.org

2016
Bio
Julia Auster-Hogan '06 joined the Rivers faculty in 2016. Previously, she taught French immersion at Robert Adams Middle School in Holliston, MA, and sixth grade French at F.A. Day Middle School in Newton, MA. Julia earned a BS in education studies and French at Skidmore College and an MEd in teaching French from Union Graduate College. She teaches middle school French and Theater Arts, serves as an advisor, and is the producer for all extracurricular drama performances on campus.
John Bower

Head of Middle School

339-686-2281

Haverford College - BA

j.bower@rivers.org

2008
Bio
John Bower joined the faculty in 2008 and has served as head of the Middle School since 2020. During his time at Rivers, John has taught Middle School and Upper School French and Middle School chorus and music-directed the Middle School and Upper School musicals. He also served as the school's director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from 2009 until 2019. In 2017, he received the Walter Family Community Award recognizing his "commitment to cultivating a caring community through extraordinary contributions to the school." John holds a BA in music theory & composition, with a minor in French language, from Haverford College.
Samantha Bower

Performing Arts

339-686-2385

fobma@aol.com

2024
Diane DeVore

Librarian, Drama, Performing Arts

339-686-4564

Trinity College - MPhil
Indiana University - MLS
Loyola University - BA

d.devore@rivers.org

2005
Bio
Diane DeVore is director of The MacDowell Library and teaches drama in the Middle School. As librarian, she manages both the library space and the selection of resources to support the curriculum and research in both digital and print formats. In addition to teaching sixth grade drama and theater arts, she is director of the Middle School play. Diane started her library career as a reference librarian in a public library before going on to work as Upper School librarian at The Seven Hills School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Diane received a BA in English and theater from Loyola University of Chicago, an MLS from Indiana University, and an MPhil in Irish theater and film from Trinity College Dublin.
Clayton DeWalt

Jazz Band

339-686-2391

New England Conservatory - DMA
New England Conservatory - MM
Slippery Rock University - BS

c.dewalt@rivers.org

2017
Katherine Encarnacao

Choreographer - MS Musical

339-686-2331

2018
Derek Epstein

Technical Director - Performing Art

University of Wyoming - BA

d.epstein@rivers.org

2022
Bio
Derek Epstein attended the University of Wyoming and graduated with a BFA in theater and dance with an emphasis on scenic design. He taught technical theater and carpentry at Emerson College and worked as the project manager for a Boston-area entertainment production company that partnered with theaters, event venues, and dance companies throughout the New England region. His collaborations include The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Boston Lyric, Speakeasy Stage Company, Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, and Trapology. Derek is a proud member of the United States Institute of Theater Technology (USITT), where he is a co-chair of the membership committee. In his free time, Derek enjoys playing board games with friends, attending local theater events, and hanging out with his wife, Linda, and cat, Lego.
Zoë Iacovelli

US & MS Musical Theater, Admissions Assistant, Director and Choreographer of US Musical

339-686-2395

The Hartt School of Music - BFA
Emerson College - MATE

z.iacovelli@rivers.org

2019
Bio
An experienced performing-arts educator, Zoë Iacovelli brings a wealth of directing, teaching, choreography, and acting experience to her role. Zoe directs and choreographs the Upper School Musical, teaches in the MS and US, and is the director and creator of the Musical Theatre Conservatory Program. She earned a BFA in musical theater from The Hartt School of Music in 2011 and an MA in theater education from Emerson College. She further developed her expertise by performing around the world as a professional actress and a member of Actors' Equity Association, as well as a MainStage performer for Disney Cruise Line. Zoe has taught musical theater and acting at Starline Academy, The Performing Arts Connection, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, and Integrated Arts Studio.
William Jones

Director of Rivers Big Band II and Middle School Jazz Band

339-686-2331

New England Conservatory of Music - MM
University of New Hampshire - BM

b.jones@rivers.org

2008
Bio
Bill Jones is the director of the Middle School Jazz Band. He has a BS in music education from the University of New Hampshire and an MA in music, jazz studies, and performance from the New England Conservatory. He has led jazz ensembles at Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow, NH, gives private lessons on the saxophone and other wind instruments, and performs extensively in the Boston and Metrowest area.
Margaret McFadden

Performing Arts

339-686-2409

m.mcfadden@rivers.org

2024
Krissy Skare

US & MS Choral Director

339-686-2473

University of Massachusetts Amherst - BM
New England Conservatory of Music - MM
Harvard Graduate School of Education - EdM

k.skare@rivers.org

2024
Bio
Krissy Skare joined The Rivers School in the fall of 2024 as the Upper School and Middle School choral director. She teaches Middle and Upper School Chorus and also serves as advisor to the a cappella club. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music with a double major in psychology at UMass Amherst, where she won a Downbeat Student Music Award for vocal jazz ensemble; an M.M. at New England Conservatory of Music; and an M.Ed. in arts education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Krissy leads Neighborhood Rocks, a Brookline-based intergenerational pop/rock chorus, and the Boston Latvian Choir, New England’s only Latvian-language choral ensemble. She has conducted choirs of up to 1,000 singers in the US, Canada, and Latvia. She enjoys forest walks and making music with friends.
Elizabeth Strayer

Theatre Arts, Math, Middle School Fall Play, Middle School XC Skiing, Middle School DEI Coordinator, Varsity Softball

339-686-2326

Skidmore College - B.S.

e.strayer@rivers.org

2020
Bio
Ellie Strayer graduated from Skidmore College with a B.S. in theater arts and completed a theater program at the Accademia dell’Arte while studying abroad in Arezzo, Italy. She has a background in mask work, claymation, playwriting, directing, devising, movement work, and puppetry. Most recently, in response to the challenges of live performance during the pandemic, Ellie cofounded First Kiss Theatre as an outlet to produce and perform new works on a virtual stage. Besides teaching Middle School theater arts and mathematics, Ellie serves as assistant varsity softball coach. Ellie’s work with the Middle School BRIDGE Club has been both impactful and inspiring, and as DEI Coordinator she extends this impact across the entire MS division.

333 Winter Street Weston, MA 02493
P: 781.235.9300 F: 781.239.3614

Rivers admits academically qualified students and does not discriminate against students or families on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic or national origin in the administration of its educational programs, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic programs, and other school-administered programs.

Explore Our Curriculum

Performing Arts

Drama, Grade 6

Middle School Chorus

Middle School Chamber Orchestra

Middle School Big Band

Middle School Beginning Jazz

Middle School Theater Arts

Middle School Musical Theater

FACULTY