A series of recitals were hosted at the Fine Arts Center on April 13 and 14, featuring performances helmed by various students from the University of Rhode Island’s own department of music.
Two individuals who performed were third-year Ricki Rizzo, a vocalist who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in vocal jazz performance, and third-year Louis Shriber, a double major in music composition and jazz performance and voice and the current president of the Rhody Rhapsodies a capella club. The pair each had their own recitals which acted as a celebration of their musical accomplishments.
Rizzo, who is from Long Island, New York, has retained an interest in music ever since she was young. Growing up in a family full of musicians, her father ended up being the most significant influence on her.
“He’s a percussionist, so I’ve always been surrounded by the music that he’s always thrown at me my whole life,” Rizzo said. “I was kinda always in that realm and it was always something I was really passionate about, and I kinda knew I wanted to do it.”
She explored music further in school, experimenting with different instruments before eventually joining choir in her first year of high school. Through this, she managed to qualify for the New York State All-State music festival, an event composed of the top students from music departments across the state, during her second year. By the time she was in 12th grade, it became something she wanted to fully pursue. However, when she first arrived at URI, she was a double major in music and in biology. She eventually switched to pursuing music full-time, something which she credits the music program for helping her choose to do.
“I wasn’t sure how opportunities would eventually come my way in terms of music,” Rizzo said. “It’s just a hard career path to get onto by yourself… Because of the professors here, I’ve been able to do everything that I have, and I’m eternally thankful.”
For Shriber, from Arlington, Massachusetts, music wasn’t always a constant in his life. It wasn’t until his second year of high school that his interest in it piqued. There, he arranged a medley consisting of three Beach Boys songs that he and various other students performed together.
“Nobody wanted to sing it,” Shriber said. “But I was hooked on the arranging process. And that’s what kinda sealed it for me. I wanted to keep doing this kind of thing.”
When it came time for him to pursue higher education, Shriber wanted to pursue musical composition and believed he could study as an underclassman anywhere. Scholarship money was also an important factor when it came to choosing his preferred school. However, the deciding factor came when he was doing his research. He was impressed by the resumes of some of the professors at URI and wanted to learn from them.
Community and connections are also a key aspect in Rizzo’s and Shriber’s successes in the music field. Despite the music program only having around 100 students, the pair of singers share some of the same musicians in their recitals. Still, there are certain people they know better than others, which they both said creates an interesting dichotomy when it comes to cooperating with their peers.
“It’s really cool to work with people outside of your normal group because you learn different things and learn how to collaborate with people,” Shriber said. “But it is nice to have that group of people that you can really know what’s up and you can just lock in immediately.”
Both Rizzo and Shriber also partake in events outside of the University. Last year, Rizzo performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, and this past February, Shriber was given the opportunity to host and perform the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Quarterfinals in Hartford, Connecticut. While initially stressful, they both found that performing at these large events brought out the best of their musical abilities.
“I think my performance on stage ends up exceeding way more than what I do in a rehearsal setting,” Rizzo said. “It’s a very surreal experience. When I’m on a stage I’m calm.”
Despite all of these events going on, both of them have clear visions of what they’ll do in the near future. After graduating, Shriber said he plans on attaining a master’s degree in choral conducting. Afterwards, he hopes to remain in New England and form his own choir dedicated to producing and performing his own music.
“Coming into URI being a composition major I was heavily versed in choral music and that’s what I wanted to write,” Shriber said. “Choir music is where my heart is.”
Rizzo also plans on attending graduate school, either for performance or to become a music educator, she said. During that time she also hopes to record and release a handful of albums with the help of her boyfriend, fourth-year Wyatt Crosby, who is an audio engineer, and continue to gig across the Northeast.
“Everybody’s dream, at least as a performer, is to make it and have a name out there,” Rizzo said. “But I know that it’s work that I have to put in, which I’m ready to do regardless. That’s like the star life.”
To keep up with their music and see any of their future events you can follow both of them on Instagram, Rizzo @rickirizzomusic and Shriber @louisshribermusic.