The Fifth International Stretto Piano Festival is thrilled to introduce pianist Rachel Starritt, a native of Wales, who will play a solo piano recital from her home on a 6.0 Pinkham piano. A video upload to our 2025 YouTube festival Playlist will be released on November 1, date and program to be confirmed.
Blind from birth, Rachel was born in Bridgend, South Wales in 1994. She has received formal training on the piano since 2006 with Alison Bowring and studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) where she achieved a distinction in piano performance (MMus) in 2022 as a postgraduate student.
Rachel completed a six month Erasmus placement in 2017 at the Conservatori Liceu in Barcelona under the tutelage of pianist Alba Ventura. Rachel has a talent for languages with fluency in both Welsh and Spanish and conversational competence in French and Italian.
Rachel performed at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in May 2024 where she played with the Hong Kong Youth Orchestra, several school choirs and a duet with Adrian Anantawan.
In November 2022, Rachel was one of a number of international artists who played in the True Colors Festival at the Tokyo Garden Theatre in Japan.
Rachel's piano improvisation skills complement her love of jazz and she currently leads a jazz trio 'The Rachel Starritt Trio', which appeared at the Brecon Jazz Festival in 2020, 2021 and 2024. At the 2021 Brecon Jazz Festival she frequently appeared as an announcer, introducing acts in both Welsh and English, sharing these duties with violinist Heulwen Thomas. Rachel has studied with Nikki Iles and Douglas Finch, and has also received lessons with the renowned Welsh pianist and composer Huw Warren.
Rachel is a member of the 'RNS Moves' Ensemble which is based at the Glasshouse in Gateshead. RNS Moves is a unique, inclusive ensemble featuring disabled musicians and non-disabled musicians of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. There is a high focus on improvisation using a variety of sounds and techniques across the breadth of musical genres.
Rachel has been the accompanist of the Kenfig and District Male Voice Choir since September 2023. The choir practice twice a week and have a number of performances throughout the year including the Emergency Services Carol Service at Llandaff Cathedral in December each year. Rachel works closely with the choir director (Rhian Thomas) and they have developed repertoire that incorporates jazz as well utilising Rachel's improvisation skills.
Rachel has played piano at a variety of venues, for example, St Martin in the Fields in London, and private functions with diverse music genres including classical, jazz and contemporary/popular culture.
Rachel is a member of the British Paraorchestra and played at Glastonbury in 2019 as part of The Love Unlimited Synth Orchestra, as a tribute to Barry White.