RACHEL LEACH
Composer/ Presenter/ Animateur
Rachel Leach is one of the UK's leading orchestral animateurs. For over 25 years she has devised and led education projects, presented concerts, composed music and written teachers’ resources for the UK's top orchestras and opera companies. Outside of the UK she has led projects in the US, New Zealand, Japan and across Europe. 1000s of children have seen her concerts and sung her songs and 100s of teachers use her educational resources everyday.
Rachel Leach was born in Sheffield. She studied composition with Simon Bainbridge, Robert Saxton and Louis Andreissen. Her music has been recorded by NMC and published by Faber. She has won several awards including, with ETO, the RPS award for best education project for One Day, Two Dawns and she was awarded Honorary Membership of the RCM in recognition of her education work
Rachel is the Lead Animateur and Artistic Advisor (schools and youth programs) to the London Symphony Orchestra’s award winning Discovery department. Alongside this she regularly works with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC NOW and many others. Rachel has written more pieces for the LSO than any other composer as well as over fifteen community operas, including seven for ETO, six for Primary Shakespeare Company.
Rachel is increasingly in demand as a concert presenter. She is the presenter of the LSO St Lukes lunchtime concert series and regularly presents children’s concerts and pre-concert events for LSO, LPO, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Royal College of Music
Recently she was a keynote speaker at the FOBISIA Music Conference in Singapore and she spent a month as Guest Animateur with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra