As a teenager Rachel played flute in the Northern Junior Philharmonic Orchestra, and was also a member of the National Youth Theatre. She studied at Oxford University and studied flute for many years with flautist Ingrid Culliford, Trinity College of Music, London. In 1991 she completed post-graduate studies in music at Dartington College of Arts, Devon.
She has many years of teaching experience in schools, music centres and higher education - including the Saturday Morning Music School ( SaMs) in Totnes, and Dartington College of Arts, Devon where she was a specialist instrumental teacher in flute.
As a musician, performer and teacher, Rachel has a wide range of musical experience including jazz, folk, classical, experimental and electronic music.
She is a qualified Music Therapist and worked for many years in health and education services in Devon.
Rachel is also a storyteller and composer.
As a narrator and musician she has toured extensively with one of the UK’s foremost puppet theatre companies, PuppetCraft www.puppetcraft.co.uk.
In her solo work she has developed a unique way of combining modern sound technology with poetic storytelling. She is a multi-instrumentalist and plays a wide variety of instruments live on stage which she samples live and builds up evocative textures of sound and music that conjure the images of the tale. See www.sonictales.co.uk for more information.
She writes soundtracks for theatre and has released 2 CD’s of storytelling and music.