Rivers School was founded in 1915 as an educational institution for boys in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Robert W. Rivers founded the school and was its first headmaster.

In 1978, the Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young was established,[5] with guests including John Cage (1983).

Recent examples include Matinee: The Fantom of the Fair by Libby Larsen.

[6][7] The Conservatory currently has more than 750 students, including a student orchestra program, jazz and chamber ensembles, music theory and composition, a marimba program,[8][9][10] choruses, master classes, workshops, and private lessons for instruments, piano, and voice.