Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Where have all the Flowers gone? They came to pay homage to Rachel! (repost)



Multi-talented instrumentalist and composer Rachel Flowers was born on December 21, 1993. Arriving 15 weeks premature, she lost her eyesight as an infant due to Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP).

When Rachel was two years old, in order to discourage her from banging on their ancient piano with her toys, Rachel's mother showed her how to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Rachel picked it up immediately, and was soon working out for herself every song she heard.



At the age of four Rachel became a student of the Southern California Conservatory of Music studying primarily with Richard Taesch, Grant Horrocks, and David Pinto. Along with her study of piano and music fundamentals, it was at SCCM that Rachel learned Braille Music Code and adaptive computer music applications. This is also where Rachel met her flute teacher, Toby Caplan-Stonefield.



Rachel spent her school years playing flute in her middle school and high school bands, playing piano with The RPM Jazz Trio, and performing in a variety of music festivals and competitions. She brought home multiple ribbons, certificates, and awards as both a classical flutist and jazz pianist, and ended her high school career by receiving both the John Phillip Souza Band Award, and the Marine Corps Semper Fidelis Award for excellence in musicianship.



Rachel is perhaps best known for her YouTube videos featuring her interpretations of the compositions of Emerson Lake and Palmer, performed as a solo artist on the piano and on the organ.



At present Rachel is in the process of composing the original material which will form the basis of her musical career. Rachel's music is informed by her extensive musical background, with jazz, classical, and progressive rock music all playing a part in helping Rachel to forge a style that is uniquely her own.



Brief bio of Rachel Flowers from her website.

More recent recordings from Rachel Flowers at her SoundCloud page

Docufeature on Rachel Flowers

[Thanks to Solo Goodspeed for the heads up on Rachel! First posted 21 October 2014]