Rachel studied at Birmingham Conservatoire where she to studied with Jonathan Kelly and George Caird. During her time here she won the Birmingham and Midland Institute Woodwind Prize and the Rollason Award for performance and was invited to perform a double Albinoni Concerto with George Caird. Following her studies at Birmingham she moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Richard Simpson.
Rachel has had a busy freelance career combining performing with education. Rachel has performed in many orchestras, some of which are the Brandenburg Sinfonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, London Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Southern Sinfonia. As a soloist Rachel has performed numerous baroque concertos with Southern Sinfonia under the baton of David Hill and her performance of Albinoni op9 no2 was described as ‘poignant, dramatic and beautifully shaped’.
Education is an important part of Rachel’s musical life and she is passionate about encouraging the next generation to enjoy music. She is an oboe teacher and chamber music coach at Guildhall School of Music Junior department, St Johns College School, The Leys and Oakham School and is often invited to give workshops and masterclasses. Rachel has tutored at the Big Double Reed Day, The Cork School of Music Double Reed Day, chamber music courses at Benslow Hills in Hitchin and also set up online OboeWorkshops.co.uk in the summer of 2020.
Rachel has been writing educational music for oboe along with creating arrangements for double reed ensembles for many years. She has arrangements published by Phylloscopus/Spartan Press and Emerson Edition and is also the creator of The Practice Challenge.
