Chris Rivelli began his career as a performing drummer after graduating Magna Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Performance. Chris has toured with Grammy nominees Kim Wilson, Lurrie Bell, Roomful of Blues, Janiva Magness, and Duke Robillard. He has also performed with James Cotton, Junior Watson, Matthew Stubbs and the Antiguas, GA-20, Curtis Salgado, Nick Moss, John Nemeth,and Mud Morganfield. He has performed at Lincoln Center, The Montreal Jazz Festival, and on SiriusXM Radio. He recently played drums and recorded tracks for the Boston Pops for their online concert “Love”, alongside faculty and students at Boston Arts Academy.
Rivelli’s work in education has been as varied and exciting as his work as a performer. A percussion, ensemble, and music theory teacher at Boston Arts Academy since 2015, Chris develops and teaches music curriculum at Boston’s only public High School for the arts. He presently leads the school’s renowned advanced jazz group, The BAM Ensemble, in addition to the Latin Jazz, Percussion, and R&B ensembles.
Since 2002, Rivelli has been a teacher at Berklee College of Music’s City Music Boston program. He has taught in the City Music Prep Academy, Artslink program and has led the Artslink All Star Big Band. Currently he leads the City Music High School Academy Rock Ensemble, and teaches drum set master classes. In addition he is on the faculty of Berklee’s Aspire 5 Week Summer Performance Intensive, and leads the prestigious City Music Aspire Rock Ensemble.
Rivelli traveled to Cape Town, South Africa in 2017 and 2019, along with Berklee faculty to teach at Stellenbosch University for Berklee’s collaboration with the Cape Town Music Academy, “Learning to Live Music”. In Cape Town, Rivelli directed ensembles, taught percussion and performed in concert with African musicians.
Along with his wife Molly Jo, Chris founded MJ’s Music School in Waltham, Massachusetts in 2005. MJ’s presently provides weekly lessons to over 200 students of various ages, abilities, and stylistic interests, on most instruments.
Rivelli has received seven Boston Music Award nominations and two wins. He received Berklee College of Music Urban Service Awards for Leadership in Music in Education in 2014 and 2017. An endorser for Vater Percussion, he is a two-time winner of the Blues Audience Magazine Reader’s Poll for Drummer of the Year. He is a former student of legendary drum instructor Alan Dawson and holds a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree from Berklee College of Music, and a Masters Degree in Music Technology from Southern Utah University.
