New Zealand-born Rachel starred in several television series including Children of Fire Mountain when she was young. However, music was her greatest passion, and she played the piano and violin as well as singing in choirs and a band.

Having graduated with a degree in music, Rachel worked as a singer/pianist and as a presenter of arts and music television programmes.

Selected to represent New Zealand in the World Chorus at the Calgary Winter Olympics, Rachel sang the solo in David Foster’s theme song at the Opening Ceremony to a live audience of 40,000 and a TV audience of 2 billion people. Invitations to record programmes of pop songs for Radio New Zealand followed, one of the programmes earning Rachel a prestigious Mobil Radio Award.

After moving to London, Rachel sang in The Phantom of the Opera before joining the
a cappella vocal octet The Swingle Singers. For four years Rachel toured with the group, giving concerts in 25 countries and working as the Swingles’ Musical Director for two years.

Since leaving the Swingles Rachel has returned to her parallel careers in music and broadcasting. She has presented Proms concerts for BBC TV, worked for BBC Radio, and has sung on the soundtracks of dozens of movies (including Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Shrek and Moulin Rouge) and on the albums of such artists as Bjork, Missy Elliott and Michael Jackson.

On stage, Rachel toured with Rambert Dance Company in 2004 and 2005 as the solo singer in their Cole Porter ballet Elsa Canasta.

Because of her remarkable vocal range and stylistic versatility, as a soloist Rachel is able to cover repertoire from Kurt Weill to Sting, Joyce Grenfell to Sinead O'Connor. Her cabaret appearances in London have been critically acclaimed, and she has been a guest on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune.

Rachel tours internationally as a soloist as well as with the ensemble Synergy Vocals. She performs her own cabaret recitals and has released a solo album, gentle rain.

Following her 2007 appearance in Dublin with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra singing music associated with Fred Astaire, Rachel returns to Dublin in 2008 for their RÉTCO at the Movies: Screen Idols programme. During 2008 she will appear with Synergy Vocals at Lincoln Center singing Berio with the New York Philharmonic, and in a new Louis Andriessen opera in Amsterdam. Rachel will also sing with early music group Joglaresa in England, and will perform the Astaire show around Europe.