Rivers Students Premiere New Works at 46th Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music

Each year, the Seminar features work by a commissioned composer; this year, RSC invited nationally-renowned composer Elena Ruehr, composer in residence with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra and a professor at MIT. RSC students performed works by Ruehr throughout the festival, culminating in the world premiere of her commissioned work Piano Quartet No. 2, “Maple,” which was given its premiere performance by a RSC piano quartet, with Joelle Chang ’26 on viola. 

In addition to performing many works by Ruehr and other contemporary composers, this year, RSC music students premiered 10 new works written in partnership with composition students from Boston University, exploring and expanding the reach of new music in the broader community. Two of those 10 were performed by Rivers students on April 6, 2025. 

This is the third year in a row that a partnership has been established between RSC and university student composers in conjunction with the Contemporary Seminar. RSC faculty member Justin Casinghino, also a professor at BU, was instrumental in bringing this year’s collaboration together with BU students. Previous years included collaborations with student composers from Berklee College of Music and Tufts University.

The inspiration and the instrumentation are as varied as the composers and performers themselves, with composer and performer exchanging ideas and, in many cases, with the composers tailoring the piece to each performer. 

“The performers at RSC are the inspiration behind the compositions for the BU students,” said Casinghino. “These pieces have been crafted with them in mind.”

Casinghino reflected on the challenges as he helped his composition students overcome obstacles in this process. “One of the bigger struggles was making sure the university students were really writing for the performers,” he said. “College and graduate students may not have written for a younger level before,” Casinghino explained. “Sometimes it is challenging to make sure you are capturing your voice as a composer while simultaneously writing at the appropriate level for the performer.”

Katherine Shaw ’26, a soprano who studies voice at RSC with Eve Budnick, premiered one of the BU pieces: “Love,” by Yifei (Michael) Xu. The piece is a setting of a poem from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, “Tell Me Where Is Fancy Bred,” described by the composer as “a lyrical and expressive dialogue between soprano and piano.” 

“Learning a new piece, especially a contemporary piece, is always exciting,” said Shaw.
“I try my best to understand the music and become familiar with the melody, the key, and any subtleties. Whenever I’m given a new piece, I work with my vocal instructor and we go through the piece together. Once I understand how the piece flows, it becomes easier for me to proceed on my own and take my own liberties with the tone of the piece.”

Shaw remarked how excited she was when she first heard the piece. “I really connected with the harmony and how angelic it sounded.” Shaw, a finalist in the National Shakespeare Competition last year, particularly appreciated this connection to the lyrics, which, she said, “allowed me to connect my passion for [Shakespeare’s] work to the new piece of art.” 

In another concert, Joo An Chang ’30 performed “Round Dance,” a piece for solo cello by BU composer Lee Qing. As Qing wrote in her program notes, “Round Dance was inspired primarily by the vitality of Haydn’s repertory. Joo An mentioned she liked Haydn’s compositions and wanted the piece to be bright and exuberant like them, and I was happy to oblige.”

Chang enjoyed the learning process, which she said was collaborative and enjoyable. “It was fun working on the compositions; I got to talk to my composer about what I wanted the piece to kind of sound like, and she gave me suggestions as well.”

Shaw expressed her gratitude for connecting with the composer and having the opportunity to interact with music in a new way. “I believe the part that is most significant to me is being able to work with the composer to have a piece that I am excited about and comfortable singing.”

The musical collaboration between RSC and BU is a unique opportunity for elementary, middle, high school, and university students to learn and perform exquisite contemporary music, inspire one another, and share new music with a wider community. Each year, the Seminar offers the opportunity to do just that—inspiring local composers and young performers to explore new repertoire and participate in the creative process.