COMMISSIONING
My primary passion, of course, is dreaming up new work for companies, consortia, and individuals looking to broaden their repertoire. I understand that your mileage may vary due to a number of factors—fear not. I have a large backlog of ideas for projects and collaborations of any duration and scale fighting to get out the front door of my brain at any given moment. Some have begun that journey and could use a nudge from you to find an audience. There are still many others I haven’t revealed. Tell me what you’re hoping for, and let’s discover where we match!
YOUR WORLD PREMIERE HERE
WORKSHOPS
Our art form will only continue to evolve and thrive if we eliminate silos between dramatists, performers, and all involved. My professional adventures have brought me to residencies and guest artist activities at many high-profile university and conservatory music programs, including Oberlin Conservatory, Vanderbilt University, Brigham Young University, and Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory. At these institutions and others, I have been part of new works pilot initiatives, lending my practical experience in the field to help establish their evolution from the beginning. Contact me to add another dimension to your composition or music theatre curriculum for any length of time.
THE PROJECT PROJECT
I attempted my first musical in the fourth grade thanks to my band teacher, Mr. Davis, who took time after class to help me out. Now I can be the next Mr. Davis to pre-professionals of any age and experience level with a musical, opera, song cycle, or either/or/neither/nor brewing. The Project Project is one-on-one mentoring time and space to ignite the budding creator’s imagination and cultivate an idea to become most like itself. This can happen in collaboration with academic institutions and presenting organizations for capstone projects and independent studies, or privately. I’m happy to take referrals from individuals and educators. Pricing is determined by the scope of the individual’s/project’s needs. Contact me to schedule a brief introductory discussion.
SPEAKING
I am available for guest speaking and panels. Experience includes the OPERA America Conference, Cleveland Opera Theater, Fort Worth Opera, John Duffy Institute, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Vanderbilt University, Lamont School of Music, Centenary College of Louisiana, and numerous podcasts. Past topics have included:
Repertoire Development for Young Singers (writing opera for young voices)
Writing Words for Opera (all levels of experience)
The Wonderful World of Grand Rights: What Your Music is Worth (for composers)
Licensing Music for Live Performance (for performers or composers)
Collaboration: Writing New Opera (any artistically curious folks)
And I’m always game to brainstorm with you about new subjects based on your needs!
CONSULTING
Face it: we’re living artists (and/or supporters of artists) working to transform a (mainly) dead writers’ medium. While no progression from that first inspiration to opening night is one-size-fits-all, I’ll help you tackle vital conceptual and practical considerations in this highly collaborative art form that you probably didn’t cover in school. In multiple capacities, I have worked with organizations from the tiniest and shoestringiest to the biggest cultural behemoths. Parallel to my creative path, I have over a decade of experience working for a major music publisher and elsewhere. I’m well-versed in licensing issues specific to live music for concert and staged performance, and I’ve survived plenty of trials by fire in our artistic landscape. Don’t just Google—speak to someone who can break it down into a personal experience from initial discussion to world premiere. Whether your expertise is in words, music, or both, I am eager to assist in managing expectations for a satisfying outcome.
Quick caveat: I am not a lawyer, and I cannot provide those specific services. But I do have plenty of relevant thoughts to share from years of victories and mistakes. I want you to advocate for yourself and prioritize creativity. And if you’re not the generative artist on the project, you’ll have tools to hit the ground running with a common vocabulary to bring art to life while keeping headaches to a minimum.
THE PATH TO MY COTTAGE AT MY 2018 YADDO RESIDENCY…AND A PRETTY GOOD METAPHOR FOR THE ARTIST’S LIFE.
SUPERTITLES & TRANSCRIPTION
No time for the tedium of adding supertitles/subtitles to your work sample videos? Sure, AI is tempting…fate! To your right are auto-generated captions of New Year’s Eve 2022 performances. Could you even tell that the songs were “New York, New York” and “Imagine”? Don’t let this happen to you! Call a dependable human who lives and breathes the art of the opera libretto. I can design supertitles that reflect the look and feel of your piece and are not intrusive to the video.
Need a transcript of your last podcast interview or panel discussion? Send your recordings right over. In addition to years of practice with my own work, I used to transcribe unedited audio and video for podcasts, reality TV shows, and plenty of other situations. You can count on me for speed and accuracy.
If it’s sheet music you need, I can create a score in Finale from your audio track, even the scratchiest scratch demo. (I have perfect pitch, so I’m fast.) In all cases, fees are based on the duration and complexity of your original recording.
BUT DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT…
“Rachel’s feedback was comprehensive and incredibly helpful. My frame of reference was limited, and Rachel provided much needed insight that I will take with me to future negotiations.”
“Rachel has an immense knowledge of many facets of the industry. When I needed help figuring out where to take a project that didn't fit cleanly into any genre, she immediately honed in on what it is, where it might fit, and how to best position it.”
“She is an invaluable collaborator and human being and wonderful with artists of all skill levels.”