Sisters in Sync: 3-2-1 with Rachel Singer
3 Questions - 2 Insights - 1 unique photo with remarkable women musicians
Rachel Singer is a notable force in the choral world, skilfully blending her roles as a performer and arts administrator. Her journey from earning a Masters in Classical Consort Singing at the University of York to performing on prestigious stages like Carnegie Hall showcases her diverse talents. She has enriched various ensembles, including Ensemble Pro Victoria and The Lacock Scholars, with her commitment to excellence in choral singing.
Beyond performing, Rachel's leadership in arts administration has bolstered the success of groups across Australia and the UK, such as I Fagiolini and The National Youth Choir of Australia. As The Giovanni Consort's General Manager, she elevates Western Australia's premier chamber choir, championing local talent and expanding the reach of choral music.
This month's Sisters in Sync features Rachel sharing her musical influences, including the impact of women composers and strategies for addressing the music industry's challenges. Her involvement in the upcoming "Requiem for an Empress" underscores her role in steering The Giovanni Consort towards innovative projects, embodying her commitment to the ensemble's growth and the enrichment of the choral music landscape.
Who is a female musician that has been a source of inspiration in your musical journey?
Over the years I have taken inspiration from a number of formidable women, but my passion for choral singing and my musical education really began with Celia Christmass, and her implementation of Kodály pedagogy into the music program at Perth Modern School. She instilled a collaborative and community-minded music-making that has stayed with me to this day, and I am so grateful for the high standards of musicianship and performance she encouraged from even the smallest musicians she taught.
Is there a particular performance by a female musician that has significantly impacted you?
I was immensely fortunate to be in the audience at Wigmore Hall early last year for French-Italian mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre’s performance with Ensemble Jupiter of their programme ‘Amazone’ - an exploration of the strength and agility of the mythic Amazons. We were treated to furious and fiery melodic runs by composers such as Vivaldi and Couperin, juxtaposed against sensuous and impassioned musical climaxes, which relaxed into dreamy instrumental pastorals.
Fortunately this programme is captured on their CD of the same name, which I can’t recommend highly enough!
Could you share a favourite composition by a woman that resonates with you?
I came across the American composer Sarah Rimkus (b. 1990) whilst programming my final recital for the Masters of Consort Singing at the University of York, in late 2021. Her work ‘Mater Dei’ interweaves the Yeats poem ‘The Mother of God’ above a simple plainchant ‘Ave Maria’ base, and explores the wonder and terror of motherhood and womanhood to devastating effect.
‘What is this flesh I purchased with my pains,
This fallen star my milk sustains,
This love that makes my heart's blood stop
Or strikes a sudden chill into my bones
And bids my hair stand up?’
How do you stay motivated and creative in the challenging landscape of the music industry?
I have always felt that one of the most challenging elements of working in music is the need to carefully balance the demands of executing the project right in front of you, whilst developing and nurturing the project far off on the horizon.
Often when I am feeling overwhelmed with competing demands, or feel in the need for some extra creative juice I try to look to the horizon - both literally, in searching out the nearest bit of coastline and spending time by the ocean, as well as conceptually, in spending time searching out and sitting with new and underrepresented works, and exploring opportunities for new collaborations.
What's a valuable lesson you've learned throughout your career?
A crucial lesson I have learnt over recent years is around the challenges of and the immense rewards inherent in diverse concert programming. It can be challenging to overcome constraints around the availability of scores and parts, and resource-intensive to look beyond the Western classical canon, but it is both a privilege and a responsibility to put time towards this pursuit.
It has been a great joy in recent years to come across resources such as the Institute for Composer Diversity, which allows you to search by ensemble, voicing and instrumentation, as well as the composer’s gender identity and sexual/romantic orientation, and more.
Resources such as this (very thoroughly and conveniently summarised on the Tenth Muse Initiative’s ‘Organisations and Resources’ page!) have been a huge aid in programming lesser-known works!
