Photo by Matt Mendelsohn

Rebecca Schrader

Composer, cellist, choreographer, painter, poet, teacher

Education

Amherst College, BA in English Language and Literature 2017-2021

UMass Amherst, MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio Art Current

Selected Performance

Event in Embryo. Performed 2021 at the Holden Experimental Theater in Amherst, 2022 at the Workroom Theater in Northampton for the School for Contemporary Dance & Thought’s WIP series, and 2023 at Loculus Studios in Holyoke.

A Happening. Co-created/directed annual immersive arts festival at the Shea Theater in Turner’s Falls with Cloudgaze Productions 2022-2024. Sponsored by Eggtooth Productions, Mass Cultural Council, Mass MoCA Assets for Artists, and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. Additional performances for Play Incubation Collective WIP showings, Green River Festival, the Valley Vaudeville Variety Show 2022, 10-hour open rehearsal for First Night Northampton 2023, and for the 2023 Earth and Fire Festival at Cityspace Easthampton. Covered by The Springfield Reporter, the Greenfield Recorder, and WRSI.

Cello Duets and Solos. Ongoing long-form improvisational scores with various musical collaborators including Marie Carroll and Will Amend performed around New England at venues such as The Clark Art Museum in North Adams, Freddy’s Bar and The Living Gallery in NYC, Mayday, The Ridge, and Red Ink in Providence, The White Room in Worcester, Wrong Brain in Dover, Cold Spring Hollow and Fort River Mining Co. in Amherst, 10 Forward and LookyHere in Greenfield, Unnameable Books in Turner’s Falls, Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, and the APE Gallery, Bookends, and 90 King in Northampton.

The Leeway Project. Ongoing movement, monologue, and sound scores made in collaboration with renowned director Wendy Woodson. Performed so far four different iterations in the Workroom Theater in Northampton since 2023.

Flooding. Ongoing solo performance piece about the transformation of landscape over the course of geologic time with original music, script, and choreography. Performed twice in 2024 at UMass Amherst and 2025 at the Amherst College Studio 3 Theater.

Exhibitions

Stick Show, APE Gallery in Northampton 2023

Meat for Tea’s Le Sale Cirque at the Divine Theater in Holyoke

Grafting, Group Exhibition at the Herter Art Gallery in Amherst 2024

Residencies

Atland Residency, Chesterfield MA 2022

Peaceful Valley Residency, Millers Creek NC 2025

Professional Experience

Registrar, Northampton Community Music Center 2023-2024

Undergraduate Drawing Instructor, UMass Art Department Current

Artist Mentor, Youth Performance Festival 2025