British-born pianist Rachel Franklin is much in demand as performer, music lecturer and teacher. As a Pro Musicis
International Award winner, she gave her solo debuts in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, and Jordan Hall, Boston. The Boston
Globe enthused about her "beautiful differentiations of color, touch and texture" and described a performance on
her solo debut CD as "not inferior...to the recorded performances by Cortot and Rubinstein." She has also given
European Pro Musicis solo debuts in Paris and Rome. At the Wigmore Hall, London, where she has given several recitals, critics
applauded her "stunning individuality," "exquisite dynamic control," and "amazing power and solidity
of technique." The Washington Post has praised her "cool-headed bravura and panache." Following a widely acclaimed
chamber concert with members of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Sun wrote: "Franklin demonstrated a flawless crystalline technique, and warmth and electricity in her playing."Recent successes have included
concertos with the Piedmont, Frederick and Johns Hopkins Symphony Orchestras.
As a soloist and ensemble artist, she has concertized in Great Britain, Spain,
Italy, Switzerland, Israel, Canada and the US, and her chamber music recordings can be found on such labels as Sony and Sonoris.
Among Rachel Franklin's many awards are top prizes in the Florence International Chamber Music Competition and the Louise
B. McMahon International Music Competition. Her performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, on WQXR and WNYC in New York,
WJHU in Baltimore, and Radio Telefis Eireann in Ireland. In addition, she has been the subject of a feature on National Public
Radio's "Performance Today," with whom she has given frequent spoken broadcasts. She is doubly talented as an accomplished
jazz pianist, having performed with many jazz ensembles, including her own classical/jazz chamber ensemble SONOS.
Deeply committed to musical outreach and education, Rachel Franklin also enjoys a busy dual career as a popular music
lecturer, having given courses and pre-concert lectures for such venues as the Library of Congress, the Annapolis Symphony
Orchestra and the Smithsonian Associate Program among others. As an extension of this work, she was awarded a prestigious
grant by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland, to develop her unique new website, “Speaking
Of Music.” This video blog, featuring short films of Dr. Franklin discussing and demonstrating well-known pieces of
concert music, was launched in June 2010. She is a highly respected
teacher and has been a Faculty Member at the University of Maryland, the Peabody Conservatory, and the Royal College of Music
among others. She is frequently invited to give master classes and judge competitions for gifted young musicians throughout
the region, and her own teachers have included Louis Kentner, Irina Zaritskaya, and Ann Schein with whom she gained her Doctorate
of Musical Arts at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. As a child, she studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and subsequently
at the Royal College of Music, London, and the Rubin Academy of Music, Tel Aviv University, where she won First Prize in the
school's piano competition and received highest honors upon graduation.
