Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger, “the unsurpassed British glory of the baroque violin,” (The Times) has established herself as a leading interpreter of baroque and classical music. She was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Prize in October 2015, Gramophone Artist of the Year 2018, and the Ambassador for REMA’s Early Music Day 2020. A creative programmer, Rachel is the founder and Artistic Director of Brecon Baroque Festival and her ensemble Brecon Baroque; is Patron for The Continuo Foundation and an Ambassador for the Learned Society of Wales. Rachel was awarded BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Year and Instrumental Award 2023 for her solo album Tutta Sola.
Recent album releases include The Muses Restor’d with Brecon Baroque and Haydn Symphonies 43 and 49 with Tafelmusik, described as “sensational” (Early Music America). Upcoming releases include The Best of Biber 1681 Sonatas and a new recording of Bach Sonatas and Partitas.
A dedicated educator, she holds the Micaela Comberti Chair for Baroque Violin at the Royal Academy of Music and the Jane Hodge Foundation International Chair in Baroque Violin at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Rachel also has a regular relationship with The Juilliard School in New York. Rachel Podger is managed worldwide by Percius.