Biography
Job Title: Accompanist
Courses Taught: BA (Hons) Music (Classical)
Specialisms: Piano, Accompaniment
Originally from North Norfolk, Rachael gained her degree in music from King’s College, London whilst receiving piano tuition at the Royal Academy of Music. She then went on to complete a postgraduate in piano accompaniment at the Academy.
As an accompanist she has been selected for courses given by Malcolm Martineau, Graham Johnson and Martin Isepp at the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme and also awarded a place in the Young Songmakers’ Almanac.
Rachael has been a regular staff accompanist at Junior Guildhall and Britten-Pears and her repetiteur experience includes the National Opera Studio, British Youth Opera, Birkbeck Opera and the Genesis Project. Her collaboration with the storyteller, Katy Cawkwell, culminated in projects for the Royal Opera House education department. More recently her education work has included the ‘Discovering Lieder’ project for Leeds Lieder.
Rachael is currently a staff pianist at Leeds College of Music, a post she has held since 2009, accompanying and coaching both undergraduate and postgraduate students for recitals, exams and masterclasses given by artists such as Emma Johnson, Della Jones, Mary Plazas and Paul Archibald. In Leeds she has also performed for the Sounds Like THIS festival as a member of the Nomad Ensemble. Rachael is the official accompanist for the Flutes at the Barns courses and a staff accompanist at Benslow Music, including the mammoth Flute Fest which concluded with a duo recital with Wissam Boustany. Rachael combines this work with freelance performing, teaching piano at King’s College School, Cambridge and bringing up her two small, but boisterous, children.
