About

Rachel Taylor is a cellist, collaborator, and creative artist whose music spans both classical and contemporary genres. Since a young age, she has dedicated her life to music and cello. While classically trained, Rachel has devoted a large part of her career to playing blues, folk, rock, and other contemporary styles. Additionally, she has used her music as a means of change within her community, creating programs for chamber music and student performances in her hometown. She has also performed at a wide variety of venues to raise awareness for issues like climate change, special education awareness, and music rehabilitation. Rachel has used her background in various genres to help teach music in community outreach programs and schools, and she hopes to share the importance of music in education through her work. Rachel’s outreach focuses on bringing music to children, senior communities, hospitals,  end-of-life care, and previously incarcerated individuals. Additionally, she has worked as a performer, concert coordinator, and outreach coordinator for the Heifetz institute, working with students and faculty to create cross-genre performances and introduce students to music and styles outside of the classical literature. She also collaborates with students and guest artists to create educational experiences, and to arrange and compose for their own performances. Rachel also has been heavily involved in new media collaborations, helping to compose and perform new pieces and scores for films, video games, and interdisciplinary performances. She is an avid supporter of new composers, and has frequently premiered works for within ensembles and chamber groups. She strongly believes in the power of the arts to create change and impact individuals and communities, and she hopes to bridge the gap between audiences and performers by educating listeners and supporting fellow artists. 

Rachel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cello Performance from the Peabody Conservatory  of Johns Hopkins, where she studied with Amit Peled. She recently graduated with her masters degree at the Jacob’s School of Music under Emilio Colon. Rachel has attended various festivals including Interlochen, the Philadelphia International Music Festival, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Orford Musique Academy, Vivace Festival, the Fundacao Franz Schubert, and Heifetz Institute. She has studied with notable professors such as Astrid Schween, Hai Ye-Ni, Melissa Kraut, John Marshall, Mark Summers, Zvi Plesser, Steven Doane, Raman Ramakrishnan, Hannah Roberts, Seth Parker Woods, Guy Fischman, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Peter Stumpf, Maria de Macedo, and Marc Coppey.

Rachel is an active performer and has been featured as a solo and collaborative artist on WVTF radio, and has performed on NPR Washington with the Peabody Cello gang. She has also performed at the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, and the Kreeger Museum. Additionally, she is featured as a guest artist on several contemporary folk albums. Rachel has performed on live television and radio and collaborated and performed on new works by contemporary artists in the DMV area, Some of her most recent work includes performances with the Owensboro Symphony, the Terre Haute Symphony, shows at the Garth Newel Music Center, concerts with the Inter Asian Cultural Expo, performances with the Charlottesville Ballet, and coaching and performance with the Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia. Rachel will be relocating to Phoenix to continue her performing and teaching career.