Rachel Franklin, piano

Renowned British concert pianist and speaker Dr. Rachel Franklin explores how savvy classical and jazz composers successfully packaged cutting edge music as "entertainment," and kept their audiences both guessing and smiling. Her program includes works by Beethoven, Liszt, Dana Suesse, Gershwin, Erwin Schulhoff and Chopin. Please join us for an alternative view of great piano music!

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. She has also given European Pro Musicis solo debuts in Paris and Rome. Recent successes include concertos with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Amadeus Orchestra, the Washington Sinfonietta, the Symphony of the Potomac and the Piedmont Symphony Orchestra. As both soloist and ensemble artist, Rachel Franklin has concertized throughout Europe, Canada and the US, and has won many awards and prizes. A prestigious grant by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, MD enabled her to build her unique video blog, “Speaking of Music.” She is also an accomplished jazz pianist, performing with her own classical/jazz chamber ensemble, SONOS.

As a highly respected artist-teacher she is regularly invited to give master classes and judge competitions for gifted young musicians. She has also taught at the Peabody Conservatory and the Royal College of Music among others. 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.