Talented Musician Overcomes Setbacks to Graduate from Mason Gross School of the Arts
Jonathan LiVolsi, once a dropout, is now going to graduate school carrying his beloved bassoon
'I just kept at it and I started to get better. Once I got the hang of it, it came naturally – like it was meant for me.'– Jonathan LiVolsi
Playing an instrument came easy for Jonathan LiVolsi; attending classes didn’t.
It took two attempts and six years for LiVolsi, 24, to earn his degree from Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts.
LiVolsi, who plays the bassoon, is considered one of the most talented undergraduates to go through the Rutgers music program, but he struggled academically.
“It was rough starting out at school because I was never a straight-A student,” he said. LiVolsi hadn’t expected to get into a rigorous academic college program like Rutgers. In April of his senior year, his band teacher told him about Mason Gross auditioning bassoonists. “He said, ‘You’re taking this audition and you’re getting in,’ ” he recalled. “ I didn’t have a plan. I wasn’t looking at any other colleges or universities. I thought I’d be going to a county college for a couple years and then figuring out what I was going to do.”
During his first semester at Mason Gross in fall 2010, he was taking 22 credits while working full time at night as a bartender. He kept missing classes, especially “Fundamentals of Musicianship,” (now called “Aural Skills”) a required course which met at 8 a.m. three times a week.
Despite several warnings from the school, LiVolsi failed that course – twice – and others as well.
He was kicked out of the program at end of his sophomore year. LiVolsi, the son of a hairdresser and a butcher and the youngest of three children, was the first in his family to attend college.
“My parents were disappointed. Really, I was disappointed in myself,” LiVolsi recalled. “I could’ve changed so many things. Why didn’t I do the right thing? ”
Even as he was failing his classes, his music never suffered. He was still in the top ensembles and was principal in the undergraduate orchestra.
LiVolsi wanted back in.
Mason Gross gave him another chance, but he had to first show he could handle the academic part of the program. He enrolled in Middlesex County College and took the required non-music classes such as creative writing, psychology and western civilization.
He finished that year at Middlesex County College with good grades and Mason Gross administrators allowed him to return.
“I came in with a completely different mentality, with a different work ethic,” LiVolsi recalled. “I wanted to do well in my classes, succeed and be the best person I could be. Also, if they were allowing me to return, I had to prove they didn’t make a bad decision.”
On his second go-around at Mason Gross, LiVolsi performed much better academically. He passed that 8 a.m. class, “Fundamental of Musicianship,” every semester as required.
He is earning his degree this month and looking forward to continuing his studies at graduate school and beyond.
In the fall, LiVolsi will attend DePaul Graduate School of Music, Chicago, and is already thinking about a doctoral degree in music. He also wants to give back to the school that gave him a second chance. LiVolsi said he would like to return to Mason Gross after his studies and help establish a peer counseling program for probationary students, who may benefit from knowing his story.
Roger A. Nye, a professor of bassoon at Mason Gross, described LiVolsi as one of the most talented undergraduates the program has seen.
“He is a very naturally gifted player, who has extremely fluid and facile fingers when it comes to playing fast passages,” he said.
But more important, Nye added, “he worked hard and overcame some setbacks in his time of study.”
Music has always come naturally to LiVolsi. He played the violin in elementary school, the saxophone at middle school, the clarinet at high school and learned piano on his own.
So when the band director at Piscataway High School in Piscataway asked for volunteers to play the bassoon for the new concert band, LiVolsi volunteered. It didn’t take immediately; for one, he didn’t like the bassoon’s sound, but when he tried to quit, his band teacher pushed him to continue.
“I just kept at it and I started to get better,” LiVolsi recalled. “Once I got the hang of it, it came naturally – like it was meant for me.”
Now, the bassoon is a part of his life.
“It is my career,” he said, “my passion in life.”
For more information, contact Roya Rafei at roya.rafei@rutgers.edu.