Liam DeRosa

BUTI YAO '23 photos are finally out! Here are a few great ones! Missing this place and these people so much right now, especially my viola gang and the amazingly fun conductor for the concert that these photos were taken at, Celia Llácer 📸: Carlin Ma

The penultimate full day of BUTI (Friday 8/11) calls for a masterclass and a viola dinner! I was so lucky today to play Hindemith Der Schwanendreher, 1st movement in a masterclass with Steven Ansell, the principal violist of the Boston Symphony! He was so funny and gave so many great musical insights and details in the piece to share! After that, our viola coaches who are basically like parents us to us, Dan Doña and Stephanie Fong bought us pizza from Betty's for a violas only picnic (plus some cookies and HEALTHY snacks Stephanie put on the table 😝) for a fun night in the park having dinner and engaging in lots of viola and life-filled conversation! Can't believe our last full day is tomorrow with a performance of Mahler 6 at Ozawa Hall under our favorite Paul Haas, and then as of Sunday morning/afternoon, I'll be on my way home!

Aaaand that's a WRAP! Another wonderfully intense, inspiring, and FUN summer at Boston University Tanglewood Institute - BUTI in the books! This last week was so busy but so amazing with Tanglewood on Parade, the Steve Ansell Masterclass, several rehearsals and classes, aaaand finishing the season with Mahler 6 with our favorite Paul Haas (who refuses to send me the viola/Cello selfies with him because "we looked bored" 😂). Can't believe these 8 weeks flew by so fast! Love you all so much, please stay in touch, and see you all in the near future since the music world is TOO small! Many thanks to Music on the Hill and YoungArts for helping cover the cost for this amazing experience! Thank you BUTI, addio! 🥰❤️🫶🎵🎻

Halfway there- 4 weeks down, 4 to go! An amazing way to celebrate the halfway point of my 8-week BUTI experience at Ozawa Hall playing Rimsky-Korsakov, Price, Caturla, and Elgar, with amazing old and new friends, our amazingly awesome viola coaches Dan Doña and Nadia Sirota, and wonderful conductor Dr. Alex Jimenez! Thank you for a wonderful start to the YAO program, can't wait for the next 4 weeks ❤️

2 weeks. 2 very different pieces. 2 sets of strangers I was told to get along with and play chamber music with. 2 sets of 2 coaches. I think 2 is an amazing number, and the reason for that is the Boston University Tanglewood Institute String Quartet Workshop. Boston University Tanglewood Institute - BUTI

Caught up with some old friends, like and made lots of new ones, like the quartet originally stranger colleagues that became my good friends and made my experience both enjoyable and top-notch, from week 1 of Mozart K 575 and , and from week 2 of Bartok 1 and . Some more sincere thanks to our wonderful co-directors, Peter Zazofsky who I had the privilege of being coached by in the Mozart, and Daniel Doña , and all the coaches, Robbie Merfeld, and from the Arneis Quartet , Rose Drucker, and Agnes Kim, all 3 of whom I had the privilege of working with- they are absolute angels sent from heaven. Performing alongside some amazing new friends and working with amazing faculty members is the reason that these 2 weeks have been nothing but joyful, inspiring, and unforgettable. Thank you, BUTI for checking off the part on my bucket list that says "play String quartets non stop for a certain amount of time"! We are now 25% of the way through my 2023 experience at BUTI- onward to the Young Artists Orchestra which made me love BUTI so much last year! 2 weeks of String Quartets down, 6 weeks of Orchestra, chamber music, lessons, and masterclasses to go! 🥰❤️🫶🎵🎻

I just saw some friends in Rhode Island for the final time before I leave for the summer tomorrow. I must say, after last year's BUTI, I went into this school year not feeling very enthusiastic about my home, school, or social life in Rhode Island because I did not want to be anywhere else but BUTI. However, the deeper and deeper we got into the year, I found myself loving the friends, family, and things I've always loved, and made more and more friends as the year progressed. This year taught me that there really is no place like home, and as I am preparing to leave for a second magical summer journey at BUTI, I can't help but notice all of these amazing home friends who make my life complete, love me unconditionally, and bring me joy. I cried when saying goodbye to all of them the past few days. Love you all so much! Now- SELF, LET'S DO THIS! 2 WEEKS OF NON-STOP STRING QUARTET PLAYING, 6 WEEKS OF EPIC SYMPHONIC MUSIC, CHAMBER MUSIC, AND INTENSIVE PRIVATE LESSONS, ALL AT A PLACE I KNOW AND LOVE! Helloooo, BUTI! Peace out, Rhode Island, see you in 8 weeks ✌️🥰❤️🫶

Magical night last night at St. Luke's Church finally celebrating the evening I had anticipated for so long! Performed the 2nd movement of the Forsyth Viola Concerto, both celebrating my big win in their scholarship competition and, although a little sad, a vacation from the Forsyth as I've now performed the 1st and 2nd movements just about everywhere.....

A HUGE HUGE HUGE congratulations to the 2nd prize winner, and my dear friend saxophonist Giancarlo D'Agostino! He is one of the kindest, most hardworking, and most supportive friends I have and I was so happy to see him in the audience last night! Big things coming his way- sax performance degree at BU. Be on the lookout for him! Very very grateful that Music on the Hill has started this trend of supporting young musicians on their journey, and honored to be the inaugural first prize winner of the scholarship, which I will use to go towards my return to BUTI! Huge thanks to Artistic Director John Pellegrino, Executive Director Emily Ayres Atkinson, and the star musicians who I shared the program with last night and who are playing the other concerts this season, most notably violinist Lina Bahn, cellist Elisa Kohanski, and the Millar Piano Duo, who all showed endless support and care last night!

Perfectly imperfect

📷: Ian Travis Barnard photography

https://donate.riphil.org/gala

Tonight was AMAZING! Ian Travis Barnard photography made a wonderful video of basically every aspect of my life for the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School Gala that was premiered tonight at the Gala dinner! Very honored to have been featured, and endlessly grateful for Ian, all my friends who were involved in this project, and of course, this organization to which we owe so much. Please, please, PLEASE donate to this amazing institution that has shaped me into the person I am today!

Gala 2023 | RIPHIL Our Annual Fundraising Gala, with internationally acclaimed guest conductor, Leonard Slatkin, and World-renowned soprano and Metropolitan Opera star, Renee Fleming, will celebrate our mission, in all of its forms. This event will highlight the experience of students in the Philharmonic’s Victoria....

Fiddle tunes in the morning; Bach, Chess, and video shoot in the afternoon; Enescu, Bridge, Ruehr, and Bacewiz in the evening. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday 🥰🫶

Hi friends! A heads up:
This Saturday, May 13, my former viola teacher and current adult bestie Abby Magoon and I will holding a fun, informal viola recital at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School. The main piece is our vision of playing the 6th Brandenburg concerto by Bach together, accompanied by piano faculty member Yoon Chung, and my amazing fellow student friends Sandhya Scott, Brianna Sheahan-Nguyen, Jenna Clark, and Kenneth Santos, as well as a few other pieces, including my original arrangement of musical theatre favorite "I Know Him So Well" for two violas and piano.

YOU GUYS COME IN HERE.....
I am thrilled to be helping our wonderful friends at the RI Philharmonic Music School with a special project for their upcoming gala. In order to pull this off, we need an audience at Saturday's recital -- there will be a little extra "encore" happening, with film crew. Without an audience, the effect is spoiled, so it would be greatly appreciated by me, the musicians, and the Philharmonic if you all marked your calendars for THIS SATURDAY, MAY 13th, at 4 pm at the Carter Center and came and enjoyed this recital. Thanks a million!

My heart is so full of joy right now! This afternoon, we had our last Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School Youth Orchestra concert at the Vets, which also marked my concerto competition winning celebration with the Forsyth Viola Concerto 1st movement, which I played with them today! Playing a concerto with orchestra is a milestone for any young musician, but it's even more special when it's a piece that you love, at a hall you otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to do solo performances at, and with a conductor and orchestra that are so close to your heart- those were all highlights of today, from the morning soundcheck to the midpoint mall trip with friends to the concert itself. And the audience was some of the most enthusiastic, supportive audiences I've ever played for (see end applause video!) Stay tuned on my pages for a video of the concerto performance!

We're about to be in the busiest time of year for me (next to Christmas)!!!!
This year's May and June performance line-up holds a particularly special place in my heart. It includes celebrations of my competition wins from the fall, the annual WSO pop-ups that have been so near and dear to me since I joined, and other performances that are not to be missed!
It starts with a celebration of my big win of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School Concerto Competition at the RIPYO Concert at VETS on May 7, where I'll be unlocking one of my biggest dreams and goals in life- playing the Forsyth Viola Concerto 1st movement WITH ORCHESTRA! And what's more? The orchestra I'm playing with has been my second home since I was 8, and consists of most of my best friends! What an amazing thing to have wonderful supporters involved in your dreams and goals. On June 5, I'll be doing the 2nd movement of the Forsyth Concerto, with my friend and colleague Juan Rios on piano to celebrate my win of the Music on the Hill Scholarship Competition. In addition to my performance, the Music on the Hill Concert also features the amazing Millar Piano Duo and cellist Elisa Kohanski! This year's WSO Pop-Up Series around the state includes free, open air performances at Pawtuxet Park on the Cranston/Warwick line, and the Washington County Fair Grounds in Richmond. We'll also be giving a more formal concert at the Gamm Theatre in Warwick as a kick-off for the month.
Over at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School, the Chamber Music Ensembles are going to be giving a performance on May 21st. On the 13th, something very special will be happening- as soon as I knew I was leaving Abby Magoon's viola studio when I returned home from 2022 BUTI last August, we made a deal that we would, at some point, perform the viola solos in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 together to mark a new collegial relationship. A couple months ago, we were ready, and asked some fellow students and faculty to accompany us on the low strings and keyboard parts. On June 18, I'll be leaving RI for 8 weeks at the amazing Boston University Tanglewood Institute! Hope to see you all at one of these performances!

https://www.musiconthehillri.org/concerts

https://www.musiconthehillri.org/rhapsody-in-blue

Music on the Hill has finally released their FULL 2023 season, beginning Memorial Day, ending June 10! 7 AWESOME chamber music concerts in the West Bay of Rhode Island, each unique in their own special way. As their scholarship competition winner, I am so fortunate to be featured in their June 5 concert in East Greenwich, where I'll be playing the 2nd movement of the Forsyth Viola Concerto, along with my colleague Juan Rios on piano! Want a relaxing outdoor lawn concert on Memorial Day? Want to explore chamber music you otherwise may not have heard? Look no further! Tickets are on sale NOW via eventbrite and mail order! Hope to see you all at both the concert I'm playing in and all the other amazing concerts on the menu for this season!

There may have been a snowstorm in Rhode Island yesterday, and it may still be cold for the next while up here, but I mentally I am in warmer, sunnier days as I have finally finalized my summer plans!

Ah, summer festivals. One of the most vital things for aspiring young musicians to consider and apply for. I myself applied for 4 festivals total, earning acceptances into 2 and rejections from 2 others. It's important for you to always be getting new and different experiences, but at the same time, it's important to find YOUR summer and to always go back to the place you love. Balancing those two things can be complicated, to say the least. But, this year's summer plans did not present me with that problem, as I have actually been offered with both a new experience AND a beloved old experience.

One thing that I've been DYING to do one day, is just to play viola in string quartets for days on end. Nothing else. This year, I got that. As a string player, I am also constantly striving to get better at playing in orchestra sections and upping my game as a soloist on all of the major concerti and sonatas. This year, I got that. Many of you saw my post last week when I announced that the Boston University Tanglewood Institute had accepted me again, so I thought I'd clarify NOW- I WILL BE RETURNING TO BUTI, IN THE SAME YOUNG ARTISTS ORCHESTRA PROGRAM I ATTENDED LAST SUMMER, AND AT THE SAME TIME I WILL ALSO BE ATTENDING THE STRING QUARTET WORKSHOP! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! I was even so blessed to receive a scholarship from them to attend both programs this year, and will also be using some of my competition money from Music on the Hill and YoungArts to attend.

For me, this is awesome. I am overjoyed. But for all of you who frequently hire me for gigs, ask me to do services, etc., I understand this is challenging, because I won't be around to do that for the majority of the summer. Last summer I was at BUTI for 6 weeks, but this summer, I will be there for even longer- 8 weeks, as the String Quartet Workshop runs for 2 weeks at the end of June, and is immediately followed by the 6 week Young Artists Orchestra program that I know and love, totaling in 8 weeks of attendance at BUTI. To view my time frame of being away from home to attend BUTI, go to these links on my website: https://www.liamderosa.com/event-details-registration/boston-university-tanglewood-institute-string-quartet-workshop

https://www.liamderosa.com/event-details-registration/boston-university-tanglewood-institute-young-artists-orchestra

Although I'll be gone for much longer this summer, I would be more than happy to take gigs any time between now and then to defray my expenses, and I'd be up to any gigs after I return home at the end of August as well. I am SO excited for more awesome rep with the Young Artists Orchestra. More solo masterclasses. More private lessons with 2 amazing teachers. More weeknights at Ozawa seeing recitals and more weekends at the Shed seeing the BSO. More nights at Betty's, Boema, Sweet Dreams, and any other awesome restaurant in Lenox. More time walking up that damn hill. More time in the sun. In my excitement on this summer plan, I have included several of my favorite memories from last year's BUTI YAO on this post.

Looking forward to living in the Berkshires for a second summer! Hope to reconnect with many old BUTI friends, and to meet many new BUTI faces and share the magic with them! As always, I cannot thank my parents Brianne DeRosa and John DeRosa enough for supporting me on my musical and personal journey and for being insanely pro-my choices. Love to all!

https://thepublicsradio.org/episode/rhode-island-philharmonic-and-youth-orchestra-play-together-with-a-powerful-sound?fbclid=IwAR3-6Q9IaNaGK0w75EHuWw0m7CSksoL_1Ugt6FmVgKmgh7-ihrE_QhEQvKM

Ummm, apparently my voice was heard on the RI NPR this morning, along with Conductor , and my friends , , and . Super fun to talk with them last week regarding the Side by Side with the RIPO and RIPYO and Dvorak's 8th Symphony. Check it out!
10m

Rhode Island Philharmonic and Youth Orchestra play together with a powerful sound Members of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra had a rare opportunity this past weekend when they performed at the Vets alongside the professional musicians of the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Artscape producer James Baumgartner visited a rehearsal before the performance to talk with the you...

Such an awesome week performing alongside the Rhode Island Philharmonic with my friends from RIPYO under Tania Miller!!!! Enjoy some photos from this week:

1/2: Violin/Viola/Cello/Flute/Horn/Bassoon Gang 🤘❤️

3/4: The absolute highlight of this week was getting to be stand partners with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Principal Viola, Abigail Cross. Such an amazing connection to make as a joint youth orchestra/professional orchestra principal viola stand, and as it turns out......we've been trained by the same school of thought as she attended BUTI in high school and got her viola performance degrees from BU!!! She has been like a second mother to the RIPYO violas and is such a gem to the RIPO community. Such an amazing person

5: 😯

6: The only thing that can separate us is a viola.....

7: Frendoooos

📷: .rlrr Chris Trek Christian Black Richard Cenedella Brent Selby (RIPO principal cello)

Thrilled to finally launch my website on here:

liamderosa.com

First summer festival acceptance of the year- Philadelphia International Music Festival!

Now that Music on the Hill has finally posted about it, I am so excited to finally let the cat out the bag that I have won first prize in Music on the Hill's Scholarship Competition for this year! This prestigious honor includes $400 to support further study AND a performance opportunity in their 2023 festival, which happens in June. I am so thankful for the entire team at Music on the Hill for being so generous and giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity. My performance will be on MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2023 AT 7 PM AT ST. LUKE'S CHURCH IN EAST GREENWICH, RI. I will be performing the 2nd movement of Forsyth's Viola Concerto, aka my favorite slow movement EVER. It's a piece filled with an awe-inspiring climax, a HUGE range extending all the way up to almost the highest rage the viola can possibly play in, and wonderful turns of emotions. I know it's a while away, but mark your calendars for June 5, and in the meantime I'm so happy that I've been awarded with his honor, and am looking forward to sharing my work with you all in June.

It's been a fun four days at the NAfME Conference playing with the All National Honor Symphonic Orchestra in National Harbor, Maryland! Met a lot of really cool people and played some great music with a great conductor.

1) with our wonderfully fun and hilarious conductor, Nobuyoshi Yasuda!

2) Dinner with friends

3) More dinner pics

4) yet another dinner pic

5) silly selfie with some new friends

6) It was SO good to catch up with clarinetist Kyunghwan Lim, who I met at BUTI this past summer. You know what they say about BUTI, once you go, you never leave, and that was clearly evident at the conference this weekend as there were actually 4 BUTI '22 alums who attended (didn't get the chance grab a pic with the other 2 alums but it was so good to see them!....another time)

Today was CRAAAZYYY.......had school all day, had a violin lesson right after, and had to go straight from my lesson to a gig in West Warwick before finally coming home and eating. Now, I am in the car with my dad on my way to a hotel in New Jersey to stay overnight as from tomorrow all the way up through Sunday, I will be playing viola with the National Association for Music Education's All National Honor Symphonic Orchestra in Maryland! Grateful for this opportunity (and getting to miss 2 days of school lollll). Can't wait to get a new experience, learn a lot, and hopefully meet some great people (as I've somehow managed to do everywhere I've gone for a while now....)! Can't wait to get this experience, and come back home to Rhode Island Sunday night with a more open mind.

(swipe for a non android quality selfie)

RIPYO Symphony had their retreat last night and first rehearsal this morning! It feels so awesome to be back "home" with these wonderful people...... suddenly starting to feel like Liam DeRosa again

Children may not obey, but children will listen........

What do you do for your LAST viola lesson with Abby Magoon? Make her teach you in your practice basement and then have dinner and cake with her! I am so grateful that this woman has been a vital part of my music education for the past 7 years. I'll never forget the rather socially maladjusted 9-year-old Liam, in desperate need of a teacher who just understood and "got" him. We thought it wouldn't be easy, but we found her, and the match was PERFECT. She encouraged me to add viola to my violin playing, got me through several auditions, local competitions, youth orchestras, etc, and just became a very close mentor, colleague and friend by the time I got to high school. After my incredible summer at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, I needed to use this as an opportunity to thank her for everything! I am going to miss her terribly and was so sad to let her go last night (although I can't really say that, because I know she's not going anywhere and is always work hard to create a new role for herself in my life)! Very excited for my last 2 student recitals with her- September 15 I'll be playing the 1st and 2nd movements of the Forsyth Viola Concerto, and at some point in November I'll be doing a special send-off with her, Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6. Love you always, Abby, thank you for everything ❤️

📷: Carlin Ma media from BUTI YAO Orchestra Concert #1

BOSTON UNIVERSITY TANGLEWOOD INSTITUTE- my concluding thoughts/recommendations, etc.:

(This is a pic our coach Dan Doña got of me, working with guest artist Michelle LaCourse in the masterclass last week. I thought this was a good pic to match the caption because this post is about what I've learned and taken from the program, and I'm doing just that with Michelle in this pic!)

Thank you all for following me on this fantastic, fun, fast 6 week journey at the acclaimed Boston University Tanglewood Institute! You all are probably wondering- what did I learn? What did I take away from this experience, besides just better understanding the mechanics of the viola and working with esteemed artists? Well, the one big thing I learned from everyone at BUTI- DO THE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU. Take that prestigious audition, do that big competition, meet that famous musician......let's face it, this is your life now. But even beyond that- just take advantage of your energy, say the nice thing you want to say to that nice person, USE your confidence, MAKE AN IMPRESSION. And if course, from our cycle 1 conductor Mei-Ann Chen: "LOVE WHAT YOU DO!" "GO EXTRA MILES!" These are all things I took away from not only the esteemed faculty, conductors and guest artists such as Daniel Doña, Nadia Sirota, Patrice Jackson, Mei-Ann Chen, Jessica Meyer, Troy Quinn, Paul Haas, et al, but from the fellow students who became my colleagues and friends. I am who I am now because THEY took interest in me. THEY made me. THEY inspired me. This experience has been so touching and moving it has changed my life. Saying that this was the best summer of my life would be a huge understatement. So- if you are a private teacher, music educator, administrator, etc, and you know some really advanced high school students who are always begging for more, I urge you to look into BUTI so that they can get exactly what they need. NO ONE leaves this experience untouched. Thank you all, thank you BUTI, thank you gofoundme donors, thank you WSO folks, thank you Abby Magoon and Laura Gulley, thank you Brianne DeRosa (mom) and dad, thank you family, thank you friends. Much love to everyone 💞❤️