Name: Liam DeRosa's Senior Recital
Start: 2025-05-03T16:30:00-04:00
Location: Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School

LIAM DEROSA'S SENIOR RECITAL
Event is Free, Open to the Public, and Unticketed
Liam DeRosa, viola
Juan Rios, piano
PROGRAM:
J.S. Bach- Suite No. 6 in D Major (presented in G Major), BWV 1012, Transcribed for Viola
Prelude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Gavotte I & II
Gigue
Bela Bartok- Selections from 44 Duos, SZ. 98
Selections TBD
Quinn Mason- "In Memory"
Johannes Brahms- Sonata in E-flat Major for Viola and Piano, Op. 120, No. 2
Allegro Amabile
Appassionato, Ma Non Troppo Allegro
Andante Con Moto
Max Bruch- Romanze, Op. 85
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:
Violist Liam DeRosa, age 18, has performed nationally and internationally as a chamber and orchestral musician. Based in Rhode Island, he is currently finishing his senior year at Cranston High School East, where he has spent his high school career serving as Concertmaster of the Cranston East Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, on the Executive Board of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and Gender-Sexuality Alliance, and as a member of the Bolts Broadcasting Corporation, Student Leadership Team, and Theatre. Liam currently studies with Michelle LaCourse, String Department Chair of the Boston University School of Music. In order to keep his violin chops, he has also been studying violin with Laura Gulley at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School, where he has studied and participated in various settings since 2013. This summer, he will attend the Bowdoin International Music Festival, where he will study with Professor Carol Rodland from the Juilliard School. Liam has served as Co-Principal Viola of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Alexey Shabalin for the entirety of his high school career, and has performed as both a violist and violinist in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Chamber Music Program, which included performing as part of the Honors Piano Quintet for the 2023-2024 Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director Search. He has additionally performed as an active freelance and volunteer musician in the Southern New England Area. In the summer of 2024, Liam served as Assistant Principal Viola of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) under the direction of Maestra Marin Alsop, as part of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. With NYO-USA, he made both his Carnegie Hall debut and international debut on their South American tour with stops in Uruguay at Montevideo’s Auditorio Nacional de Sodre, in Argentina at Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón, and in Brazil at Rio de Janeiro’s Teatro Municipal and at Sala São Paulo. Liam is also a veteran of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) in the Berkshires, where he participated in the String Quartet Workshop in 2023 and 2024. He performed with the BUTI Young Artists Orchestra at Tanglewood as Principal Viola in 2023 under the direction of Maestra Celia Llacer, and as Assistant Principal Viola in 2022 with Maestra Mei-Ann Chen. Liam has performed in solo masterclasses for Boston Symphony Orchestra Principal Violist Steven Ansell, Paul Laraia of the Catalyst Quartet, and Kerri Ryan, Assistant Principal Viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra. His chamber music coachings, masterclasses, and collaborations include those with Lois Finkel, Gideon Rubin, Yefim Bronfman, Patrice Jackson, Hyun Min Lee, Steven Ansell, Peter Zazofsky, Sergey Antonov, and the Arneis Quartet. Liam’s awards and honors include being selected as a recipient of the 2024 Anthony Quinn Foundation Scholarship, First Prize in Music on the Hill’s Inaugural Scholarship Competition, Winner of the 2022/23 Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School’s Concerto Competition, performing with the 2022 NAfME All-National Honor Symphonic Orchestra, and Merit Prize Winner in the 2023 National YoungArts Competition. He was featured in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School’s 2023 Gala Fund video, “Beautiful Imperfection.”
Dr. Juan Carlos Rios is a Colombian pianist and educator. He received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from West Virginia University (WVU) studying under Dr. Peter Amstutz. He also got both his Bachelor’s and Master's degree in Piano Performance from Universidad Eafit (UE) in Medellin, Colombia. There, Mr. Rios studied under Blanca Uribe and Teresita Gomez, both known for their distinguished international careers. During his time at both UE and WVU, Mr. Rios has done extensive research on the American composer, Paul Bowles. Dr. Rios has previously been the pianist for the Orquesta Filarmanica de Medellin and has considerable experience as a collaborative pianist both in Colombia and the United States. Dr. Rios has taught as a professor of piano at UE, WVU, Universidad de Antioquia, and various community programs. Dr. Rios has received distinguished honors including the Valery Canady Foundation Scholarship and full scholarship to the Festival International do Inverno in Brazil. He has also been recognized for his performance in premiering new piano works. Currently, Mr. Rios is performing and teaching in Providence, RI. There, he works as a piano instructor at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School (RIPMS), teaches for and owns Juan Rios Piano, LLC., performs recitals in the New England area, and works as a collaborative pianist at RIPMS. He is also the Music Director at The Church of the Redeemer in Providence, RI
Violist Michelle LaCourse, an active soloist and chamber musician, has appeared on four continents, including recent performances in France, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Brazil, China,
and South Korea, and in many parts of the USA. She was formerly a member of the Lehigh Quartet, the Delphic String Trio and the Aeolian Trio, and currently performs with the Pangaea
Chamber Players and the Convergence Ensemble. Her two recordings of new music for viola and piano, “Chocolates” and “An American Menagerie” were released on MSR Classics to rave
reviews. She currently teaches viola and chairs the String Department at Boston University’s School of Music, where she was awarded BU’s Metcalf Cup and Prize, the university’s highest
honor for excellence in teaching. She frequently presents master classes at music schools across the United States and internationally, and during the summer months she also teaches and performs at the annual Karen Tuttle Viola Workshops and BU’s Tanglewood Institute as well as a number of other festivals and workshops. Many of her former students currently enjoy playing and teaching positions around the globe.