Victoria LaRiccia

Victoria LaRiccia joined the Conservatory in 2016 as an instructor of autism, music, and behavioral teaching methods for the music education program.

LaRiccia was raised in a musical household, where she experienced daily piano playing. It was not long before she discovered the guitar, and she taught herself on the instrument through her middle-school, high-school, and college years. After college, LaRiccia founded two local bands, performing on bass, keyboard, and vocals, and discovered a passion for the stage and performance. During this time, she began teaching students with autism and incorporated her love of music into her instruction. LaRiccia was able to break down the social and emotional barriers of severe autism, and she successfully taught students to master the clarinet and join her school's concert and jazz bands.

In 2008, LaRiccia became a consultant to Boston Conservatory’s programs for students on the autism spectrum, and she has been consulting since. In 2011, she independently composed and recorded an electronic solo album. Since then, LaRiccia has been a special-education teacher in the Public Schools of Brookline for middle-school students with various moderate disabilities, including communication and emotional disabilities, Down syndrome, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders.   

LaRiccia earned a B.A. in psychology from UMass Amherst. In 2011, she earned an M.Ed. in special education/moderate disabilities from Cambridge College and completed a thesis titled "Teaching Music to Students with Autism." Through Boston Conservatory’s programs for students on the autism spectrum, LaRiccia has presented on the topics of music instruction and autism at numerous professional development workshops and conferences for educators and administration throughout Massachusetts. She also aided in the design and implementation of the Conservatory’s Inner Harmony Chorus, a vocal ensemble for individuals on the autism spectrum and their families and friends.