Rachel Beckett
- baroque flute
Rachel Beckett studied flute and recorder in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she developed an interest in the performance practices of the 17th and 18th centuries. She has since performed and recorded with all of the leading British period instrument groups.
Among her recordings are the Brandenburg Concertos with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the English Concert, numerous recordings for Hyperion including Handel recorder sonatas op. 1 and chamber music by Telemann and Vivaldi.
As principal flute and recorder of Sir John Eliot Gardiner's English Baroque Soloists she appeared at last year's BBC prom and all over Europe performing Bach's B minor Mass. Highlights this year are performances of the St Matthew Passion in Germany, Spain and London. She features extensively in their recordings of the complete Bach Church Cantatas which are in the process of being released.
Other recent engagements have included a tour of the USA as recorder soloist with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightment, and as flute soloist for the Academy of Ancient Music in the finals of the Queen Elizabeth Singing Competition which was broadcast throughout Europe.