Rachel Brown (flautist)
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Rachel Brown is a British flautist and author, known especially for her work with
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
music and flutes. She is currently professor of baroque flute at the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, in addition to traveling around the world to give masterclasses. She has performed with many
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
s internationally, including as principal flute with
Kent Opera Kent Opera was a British opera company active between 1969 and 1989. It was based in Ashford and regular venues included The Orchard Theatre, Dartford; Assembly Halls, Tunbridge Wells; Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Kings Theatre, Southsea; Theatr ...
, the
Academy of Ancient Music The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a British period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after an 18th-century organisation of the same name (originally the A ...
, the
Hanover Band The Hanover Band is a British orchestra specialised in historically informed performance, founded by its artistic director, Caroline Brown. The group's website explains the name thus: '' 'Hanover' signifies the Hanoverian period 1714-1830 and ' ...
, the
King's Consort The King's Consort is a British period music orchestra founded in 1980 by the English conductor and harpsichordist Robert King (b. 1960, Wombourne). The ensemble has an associated choral group, Choir of The King's Consort. Together, they have ma ...
,
Collegium Musicum 90 Collegium Musicum 90 is an English baroque orchestra playing on period instruments. It was founded by violinist Simon Standage and conductor Richard Hickox in 1990 and was jointly directed by them (either together or separately) until the death of ...
,
Ex Cathedra Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ''ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the aposto ...
, and the
Brandenburg Consort Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...
. She is known for her extensive work and mastery of both historical and modern flutes.


Biography

Brown was born and raised in London. As a child, she studied
recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
,
flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
at age 11 and
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
. She was accepted into the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
Junior College, where she took private lessons in each of these three instruments and played in a recorder consort. At age 15, Brown attended the
Trevor Wye Trevor Wye (born 6 June 1935) is a professional flautist, flute instructor, and author of several books about technical aspects of flute playing. He founded the International Summer School for flute. The English flautist Trevor Wye began playing ...
Summer School which motivated her to further her flute study and she later attended the
Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...
to study with Wye. It was here that her interest in baroque flute grew. She also studied baroque flute with
Lisa Beznosiuk Lisa Beznosiuk (born 20 August 1956 in Sheffield) is an English flautist of Ukrainian and Irish descent, specializing in period performance of baroque and classical music on historical flutes. Biography and career Lisa Beznosiuk trained at th ...
during her years at RNCM. After graduation, she obtained positions with the
Academy of Ancient Music The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a British period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after an 18th-century organisation of the same name (originally the A ...
and
Kent Opera Kent Opera was a British opera company active between 1969 and 1989. It was based in Ashford and regular venues included The Orchard Theatre, Dartford; Assembly Halls, Tunbridge Wells; Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Kings Theatre, Southsea; Theatr ...
. In 1984, Brown traveled to the US to compete in the National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition, where she won first place. She credits this competition as helping her find international connections and becoming more connected to the flute community. In 2003, she authored and published a book entitled ''The Early Flute: A Practical Guide'' about Baroque flute performance practices and techniques. This book has been called " invaluable resource for any flautist interested in historically informed performance." She is active in teaching, holding positions at the Royal College, running a children's group called "Hummingbirds" for youngsters, and traveling internationally for masterclasses in the US,
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,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Her scholarly work includes an extensive discography of Baroque pieces and a project on reviving over 300
Johann Joachim Quantz Johann Joachim Quantz (; 30 January 1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German composer, flutist and flute maker of the late Baroque period. Much of his professional career was spent in the court of Frederick the Great. Quantz composed hundreds of flute ...
sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...
s and
concerti A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...
for publishing found during a research project in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
at the
Staatsbibliothek This is a list of the state libraries (german: Landesbibliothek) for each of the Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany. These libraries hold the right for legal deposit for the publications in their respective state. Landesbibliothek S ...
. She has revived the 18th century practice of financing a project by finding subscribers, on such projects she has worked with other flautists including
Robert Dick Robert Dick (January 1811 – 24 December 1866), was a Scottish geologist and botanist. Life He was born at Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. His father was an officer of excise in nearby Alloa. At the age of thirteen, after receiving a good e ...
and Don Hulbert. She is a member of the
London Handel Players London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
which has recorded many discs of period music on period instruments, in addition to performing regularly at the
London Handel Festival The London Handel Festival is an annual music festival centred on the compositions of George Frideric Handel which was founded in 1978. The festival also features other composers, but its main purpose is to showcase a range of Handel's work. It in ...
and throughout the world.


Personal life

Brown is married to a violinist and has a young daughter.


Discography

* ''Private Passion;'' Rachel Brown, flute"Flutist Rachel Brown has released two recent CDs: Private Passion." ''Flutist Quarterly'', 2010, p. 70. ''Academic OneFile''
Accessed 24 March 2018.
(
Quantz Johann Joachim Quantz (; 30 January 1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German composer, flutist and flute maker of the late Baroque period. Much of his professional career was spent in the court of Frederick the Great. Quantz composed hundreds of flute ...
flute sonatas composed for
Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
, performed on copies of original instruments) * ''Telemann Fantasias;'' Rachel Brown, baroque flute ( Telemann fantasias for solo flute, performed on baroque flute) * ''A Tribute to Bach''; Rachel Brown, flute (flute sonatas, instrumental works, and arias by J. S. Bach)


Books and publications

* ''The Early Flute: A Practical Guide,'' Rachel Brown (2002) * Cadenzas for the
Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it also ...
edition of
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
Flute Concertos


References


External links

*
Rachel Brown
discogs.com * Wai Kit Leung

musicweb-international.com 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Rachel British flautists British women writers British writers about music Academics of the Royal College of Music Living people 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English women musicians 21st-century classical musicians 21st-century English women musicians Musicians from London British music educators British women music educators Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century flautists 21st-century flautists