Biography

Rachel Godsill began singing in Pocklington parish church choir in her home county of East Yorkshire. She read Music whilst a choral scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge, before postgraduate vocal study at the Royal College of Music.

Her career has taken her to concert halls across N Europe, America and China – to Prague for performances of orchestral songs by Janacek and Smetana, to Beijing and Shanghai for performances of Britten’s Peter Grimes and War Requiem, and to Budapest and Erfurt for performances of baroque and contemporary music.

Her concerts this season include Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et de la mer, (Stapleford Granary; St Mary’s Islington; St Botoph’s, Cambridge), Berlioz Les Nuits d’étés (Cambridge Sinfonietta), and recitals of lieder by Schumann and Liszt, exploring the female voice in poetry of the 19th century, for International Women’s Day.

Since 2022, Rachel’s duo Sopriola has toured Northern Europe without flying. The duo has given concerts in London, Krefeld, Berlin, Cologne and Rheinsberg, with programmes including newly commissioned works for soprano and viola d’amore. In October 2024 they will perform in Germany, Italy and Sicily as guests of the 20th International Viola d’amore Congress.

Rachel has performed with the Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, European Voices, London Voices and The Academy of Ancient Music, working with conductors including Simon Rattle, Richard Hickox, Charles Mackerras and Roger Norrington. She has recorded music for film and can be heard on the soundtracks of Harry Potter, Star Wars. Beauty and the Beast and Mission Impossible!

Rachel teaches the choral scholars of Peterhouse, and Corpus Christi Colleges, and the boy trebles of Jesus College, Cambridge. She directs a choir in her local community in Linton and firmly believes that enrichment through singing should be made available to everyone.

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