…soaring lyrical intensity…
…startling rendition sung with utter professionalism…
…exquisite realisation…
About Rachel
Having performed in major concert venues throughout the UK and Europe, Rachel’s concert repertoire spans Bach and Handel through Mozart and Rossini to Tippett and Orff.
At home with contemporary repertoire whilst also well-versed in oratorio and recitals.
Concert platform includes recitals of Elgar, Britten, Brahms, Wolf, Fauré, Debussy and Kodály. She has performed Handel’s Messiah with the Academy of Ancient Music in China
Many pieces have been composed specifically for her.
Rachel has worked with, amongst others, Richard Hickox, Simon Rattle, Roger Norrington, Emmanuelle Haim, Charles Mackerras and Ivan Fischer, performing with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Voices and Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Read Rachel’s biography or contact her below.
Media Kit
Here you can find resources for press and promoters. Please reference Rachel’s biography for details to be used in programmes or other marketing material.
Upcoming Concerts
Please click on the Concert name for more information.
Show Past Concerts
- Mozart’s “Requiem” on April 10, 2011 6:00 pm
- Brahms’ ”Ein Deutsches Requiem” on April 16, 2011 7:30 pm
- Tippett’s ”A Child of our Time” on May 4, 2011 7:30 pm
- Songs of Starlight and Shadow on May 13, 2011 8:00 pm
- Alleluia! on June 18, 2011 7:30 pm
- Rejoice! on July 19, 2011 1:30 pm
- Distant Worlds on November 5, 2011 7:30 pm
- Handel’s Messiah on December 9, 2011 8:00 pm
- Handel’s Messiah on December 10, 2011 8:00 pm
- A Feast of Song on February 11, 2012 7:30 pm
- A Feast of Song on February 25, 2012 6:00 pm
- Bach’s Mass in B minor on March 24, 2012 7:30 pm
- Songs by Schubert and Brahms on April 21, 2012 6:30 pm
- Ave Maris Stella on October 27, 2012 7:30 pm
- Faure’s Requiem on October 28, 2012 6:00 pm
- Ivor Gurney to Ivor Novello on November 1, 2012 7:30 pm
- Ariettes Oubliees on March 2, 2013 6:30 pm
- Rachel Godsill and Marie- Noelle Kendall perform on March 15, 2013 7:30 pm
- Brahms and Schubert on April 27, 2013 6:30 pm
- Jewels of Czech Music on May 3, 2013 7:30 pm
- Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten on September 26, 2013 7:00 pm
- Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten on September 28, 2013 7:00 pm
- Jewels of Czech Music on October 10, 2013 7:30 pm
- Wherever we may be on March 15, 2014 6:00 pm
- Bach St John Passion on March 21, 2014 8:00 pm
- Bach St John Passion on March 22, 2014 8:00 pm
- Yanomamo! on March 23, 2014 2:00 pm
- Songs from Sultry Climes on November 5, 2014 7:30 pm
- Spirit of Spring on March 13, 2015 7:30 pm
- Songs by Elgar, Finzi and Britten on May 9, 2015 11:30 am
- Let us Garlands Bring on June 11, 2016 6:00 pm
- Fidelio – Beethoven on January 21, 2017 7:30 pm
- England, Fair England on April 29, 2017 7:30 pm
- Schumann and Brahms: Songs for the Young on May 13, 2017 7:30 pm
- Music for Voices and Viols on May 20, 2017 7:30 pm
- Flowing East on September 8, 2017 1:30 pm
- Fairest Isle on February 24, 2018 6:00 pm
- Orff Carmina Burana, Poulenc Gloria on March 17, 2018 7:30 pm
- Spirit of Spring on March 18, 2018 11:00 am
- Szymanowski Stabat Mater on March 24, 2018 7:30 pm
- Flowing East by Sopriola on April 27, 2018 6:00 pm
- Strauss on June 30, 2018 7:30 pm
- Hansel and Gretel – Humperdinck on October 23, 2018 3:00 pm
- Words in New Clothing on November 4, 2018 3:00 pm
- Of Love and the Sea on November 10, 2018 4:00 pm
- Jewels of Czech and World Music on April 27, 2019 7:30 pm
- Summer Nights on July 18, 2019 7:30 pm
- Into the Holy City on November 9, 2019 7:30 pm
- Words in new Clothing on February 28, 2020 6:15 pm
- Schubert Mass in G on March 14, 2020 7:30 pm
Biography
Born in Yorkshire, UK, Rachel Godsill began her singing in the local parish church choir. She read music at Selwyn College, Cambridge where she was a Choral Exhibitioner, and was a prize-winning student at the Royal College of Music.
Subsequently studying with Sheila Barnes and Alison Wells, Rachel is in demand as a recitalist and oratorio soloist, performing in major concert venues throughout the UK and Europe.
Highlights have recently taken her to the Czech Republic to perform songs of Smetana and Janacek with the Prague University Orchestra, to Budapest, Erführt and Berlin for recitals of music for voice and viola d’amore, and to Beijing and Shanghai for performances of Britten’s Peter Grimes and War Requiem (Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, London Voices). In 2018 she performed in Beethoven’s Fidelio (RFH) with the London Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the South Bank’s Belief and beyond Belief festival.
Rachel’s oratorio repertoire encompasses Bach and Handel through Mozart and Rossini to Tippett and Orff. Last season included performances of Carmina Burana and Poulenc Gloria (University concert hall, Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon), Handel’s Messiah (Choir 2000), Shakespeare settings by Finzi, Gurney and Cecilia Macdowell (Church of king Charles the Martyr, Tunbridge Wells, Corpus Christi, Cambridge) and performances of Schumann’s Song album for the Young ( Hughes Hall, Cambridge, Stapleford Granary).
Rachel is equally at home with contemporary repertoire and many pieces have been especially composed for her. She has performed Saariaho’s La Passion de Simone in the Barbican, UK and Lincoln Centre, New York under the direction of Peter Sellars, works by Lutoslawski and Penderecki at the Lugano Music Festival with Terry Edwards and can be heard on the soundtrack for many films including Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Star Wars and Beauty and the Beast! She is a member of the duo Sopriola.
Within ensembles Rachel has worked with Richard Hickox, Simon Rattle, Roger Norrington, Emmanuelle Haim, Charles Mackerras, Ivan Fischer, and Vladimir Jurowski, performing with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, European Voices, Collegium Musicum 90, Le Concerts d’Astre, Birmingham Symphony Orchestra , The Schutz Choir, London Voices and The Academy of Ancient Music.
Rachel is also a much sought after teacher, working with the choral scholars of Peterhouse, Downing and Corpus Christi Colleges, Cambridge and with the boy trebles of Jesus College. She directs choirs in the local community and is passionate about making singing available to all.
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