Rachel Podger violin with Brecon Baroque

“Rachel Podger, the unsurpassed British glory of the baroque violin,” (The Times) has established herself as a leading interpreter of Baroque and Classical music. She was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Prize in October 2015, Gramophone Artist of the Year 2018, and was Ambassador for REMA’s Early Music Day 2020.

A creative programmer, Rachel is the founder and Artistic Director of Brecon Baroque Festival and her ensemble Brecon Baroque consisting of an international line-up of world-class virtuosi in the period-instrument world. Together they specialise in one-to-a-part repertoire including Vivaldi, Biber, and Bach. Rachel is Principal Guest Director for Tafelmusik, Patron for The Continuo Foundation and an Ambassador for the Learned Society of Wales. She was awarded BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Year and Instrumental Award 2023 for her solo album Tutta Sola.

Recent album releases on Channel Classics with Brecon Baroque are The Muses Restor’d and the world premiere recording of Bach Goldberg Variations Reimagined in a new chamber arrangement by Chad Kelly. Rachel’s next disc Just Biber with Brecon Baroque is due for release in 2025.

A dedicated educator and inspirational coach, Rachel has begun her own training programme BOGA (Bow Yoga), she holds the Micaela Comberti Chair for Baroque Violin at the Royal Academy of Music, and the Jane Hodge Foundation International Chair in Baroque Violin at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She also has a regular relationship with The Juilliard School in New York. Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque are managed worldwide by Percius.

This concert is additional to the main six concert series.