Larry Markiewicz – joined the RVSB in 2005 and is the band’s current conductor and musical director.

Larry Markiewicz is one of the band directors at Bridgewater-Raritan High School in Bridgewater, NJ. Over the past 12 years, Mr. Markiewicz has been a guest conductor and clinician with many groups in America, Japan, and England. His expertise ranges from Wind Band Conducting, to running leadership seminars for students, to teaching some of the top competitive drum and bugle corps in the world. In 1996 in Atlanta Mr. Markiewicz instructed the brass ensemble that played a large part of the Olympic closing ceremonies by playing the famous John Williams Fanfares throughout the evening.

Mr. Markiewicz’s groups have always performed with a very high level of excellence, as his band program prides itself on giving its students a “well rounded” quality experience of music performance and training. In recent years Mr. Markiewicz has conducted the Central Jersey Region II band, and has flown around the country to help other programs prepare for their state festivals in Florida, Delaware, and South Carolina. He also has lent his ears during a couple of the Rutgers University Wind Ensemble recording sessions with composers such as Bruce Yurko and Eric Whitacre present during those recordings. In England, Mr. Markiewicz has been named the first honoray member of the British Youth Band Association (BYBA) and has guest conducted the staff band at the Pontins Music Festival 6 times in the past 10 years.

Mr. Markiewicz holds a degree in Music Education from TCNJ, and has studied conducting with Daniel Spalding, and Dr. William H Silverstor (TCNJ), he has recently attended symposiums run by Dr. Robert Franzblau (Rhode Island College), and Dr. Alan McMurray (Colorado State University).

Away from his rigorous professional schedule, Mr. Markiewicz loves to spend time at his home in Somerset, NJ with his beautiful wife Donna. Together they enjoy spending time following their favorite sports team (Yankees) and of course enjoying their close families that also live in central New Jersey. Prospective members and others with questions about the band are invited to contact Larry by email or by phone at 609-462-9176.

Dr. Anthony Isch – was the founding conductor of the RVSB and conducted the band from 1983-1998.
Dr. Anthony Isch is a retired College Professor of Music from The New Jersey College at Trenton where he served as Band and Wind Ensemble director for 20 years. He was Director of Student Teaching for all Music Education Majors. While at NJC, Dr. Isch organized the New Jersey High School Band Festival which is still going strong after 25 years.

He served as Adjudicator and Massed Band Conductor of the Atlantic City Press Band Festival at Convention Hall for seven years. He was guest conductor at numerous band festivals including The New Jersey Region III All State Band, The Eastern Pennsylvania Band, The New Jersey All Shore Band, and The Salem County Band. For the past ten years, Dr. Isch has been a lecturer and adjudicator for the annual Teen Arts Festival at Burlington County College. He was the conductor of The Moorestown Community Chorus for seven years, and Director of Music at The Lutheran Church in Haddonfield for 22 years.
While at the New Jersey College, he was a violinist and Associate Conductor of The Creative Arts Symphony Orchestra. His article in The Instrumentalist Magazine on Manual Aptitude Tests in Music resulted in his system being adopted in numerous public schools nationwide. He also has had articles in The Music Educators Journal. He has choral Music published by Schmidt, Hall & McCreary, and The Chelsea Collection of Hand Bell Music published by Harold Flammer. His Doctoral Dissertation was one of the first to demonstrate the value of teaching of music via videotape.
Tony began leading the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band in 1983 and led the band until his retirement in 1998, building the band into the successful group it is today.  His farewell concert on June 13, 1998 was widely publicized in the area newspapers. The members of the band thank Tony for his many years of inspirational leadership and dedication. He will be missed.

Dr. Jerry Rife – was the second conductor of the RVSB, from 1998-2001.

Dr. Jerry Rife directed the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band from September 1998 to June 2001. Dr Rife is Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Area at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where he teaches music history classes and conducts instrumental ensembles. In 1990 he received the Lindback Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Dr. Rife was associate producer and director of musical research for “If you knew Sousa,” a 1992 documentary film on Sousa filmed for The American Experience and shown world-wide on the PBS television network. He is extremely active as a performer of solo, recital, orchestral, and jazz music on the East Coast on clarinet and saxophone. He has guest conducted and adjudicated at band festivals, published numerous articles on band music and on the works of French Composer Florent Schmitt, is a respected lecturer in the community, and is New Jersey state chairman of the College Band Directors’ National Conference. In addition to his leadership of the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band, he also conducts the Rider University Concert Band and the Blawenburg (NJ) Band.

Dr. Rife received the Bachelor of Science in Music Education and Master of Music in Applied Clarinet Performance from Kansas State University, where he studied Clarinet with Frank Sidorfsky. He also studied with Fred Ormand of Michigan State University, George Silfies of the Saint Louis Symphony, and Clark Brodie of the Chicago Symphony. He received he Ph. D. degree in Musicology from Michigan State University, where he studied Musicology with Dale Bonge, Hans Nathan, and Rosalie Schellhous. His research areas included the life and music of Florent Schmitt, Igor Stravinsky, John Philip Sousa, and Carl Nielsen. He also studied improvisation as creative expression and single reed instrumental acoustics.

Dr. William Berz – was the third conductor of the RVSB, from 2001-2005.

Dr. William Berz is Chair of the Department of Music at Rutgers- The State University of New Jersey. He teaches classes in music education, and has conducted a wide variety of performance ensembles including bands, orchestras, contemporary music groups, and opera. In 1993, Dr. Berz was given an Outstanding Teacher Award by the Rutgers College Parents Association. In 1994-1995, he was a Lilly Endowment Fellow.

Currently, Dr. Berz is conductor of the Rutgers Wind Ensemble and Rutgers Symphony Band. With these ensembles, he has premiered many new works for winds, and he has won the praise of many distinguished composers including Charles Wuorinen, Roger Nixon, Eric Whitacre, Martin Ellerby, David Holsinger, Roger Cichy, Timothy Mahr, Jack Stamp, Steven Bryant, Eric Moe, Timothy Broege, Jan Van der Roost, and Ralph Hultgren.

Dr. Berz has considerable experience as an orchestral conductor. He was the Music Director and Conductor of the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra from 1988 until 1994. From 1984 to 1989, he was Assistant Conductor of The Jupiter Symphony and Naumburg Orchestra, both of New York City. He conducted the New Jersey State Youth Orchestra from 1984 until 1988. In 2000, he conducted the New Jersey All-State Orchestra.

In addition to his work as a conductor, he is active as a researcher and writer. He has published a number of articles and presented many sessions in instructional technology, music education, and conducting. He is co-author of the book Applications of Research in Music Technology, published by the Music Educators National Conference. He has articles published in Psychology of Music, Music Perception, The Bulletin of the Council of Research in Music Education, Tempo, The WASBE Journal, and The New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia. He has been a regular consultant to the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey. He is editor of the WASBE Journal and was founding editor of Visions of Research in Music Education.

A native of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, Dr. Berz began his teaching career in Leslie, Michigan. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Michigan State University with major study in music education and conducting. His conducting teachers include Stanley DeRusha, Kenneth G. Bloomquist, David Catron, Robert Erbes, and Jens Nygaard.