SPEAKING OF MUSIC

Dr. Rachel Franklin has developed a stellar reputation as a public speaker about music throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Renowned for her wit, scholarship and ability to illuminate even the most complex concert works, her gifts for communication have led to countless lecturing engagements for major orchestras and concert organizations, colleges, adult education groups and others. She has presented frequently for such prestigious venues as the Smithsonian Institution, The Library of Congress, the Peabody Institute, and National Public Radio.

This wide range of musical expertise has brought her back repeatedly to enthusiastic audiences, including the Smithsonian Associates, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Academy Art Museum in Easton MD, the Chesapeake Film Festival, the Annapolis Opera Company, the Cosmos Club in DC, and countless others. Besides appreciating her performing artistry, her listeners rave about her warm, engaging style as she illustrates at the piano. Her great passion is provoking connections and sparking imaginative pathways for her listeners and students, so their own creativity can be inspired by extraordinary musical art.

Since 2020 she has been greatly in demand for her unique online presentations. She is one of the Smithsonian Associates’ most popular live-streaming music lecturers, and her topics explore intersections between classical and jazz music, film scores, and the fine arts.

She is the Strathmore Music Scholar in Residence for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, giving all their Strathmore Hall pre-concert lectures, and in 2023 she appeared as one of the featured speakers at the world-renowned Aspen Ideas: Health Conference in Colorado. In addition she recently joined the roster of distinguished lecturers for New York’s 92^nd Street Y’s “Roundtable” online platform. For the past two New Years she has given the Plenary Lunchtime Performance for the prestigious Renaissance Weekend conference in Charleston, SC, and in May 2024 she presented a unique show on 90 years of film music Oscars for the Avalon Theatre Chevy Chase’s annual gala.

For two decades Dr. Franklin was also the Education Programs Lecturer and Online Content Advisor for the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, giving all the ASO’s pre-concert video “Chats” plus commentating for both the ASO’s live-streamed and pre-recorded concerts.

Rachel Franklin has concertized in major halls across Europe, Canada and the US. The Washington Post has praised her “cool-headed bravura and panache” and the Baltimore Sun lauded “a flawless crystalline technique, and warmth and electricity in her playing.” She is also doubly talented as an accomplished jazz pianist, leading her own unique classical/jazz chamber ensemble SONOS.

Dr. Franklin is keenly aware of the need to reach out to audiences who want a “behind the scenes” experience with classical music and its great composers, history and place in the wider world of the arts. She offers many types of lecture-demonstrations, courses and lecture-recital packages. She also enjoys curating musical events and festivals, and all her presentations are designed to suit a wide variety of venues and audiences. She is always delighted to discuss possibilities with music-lovers and organizations.

“Music is not an exclusionary art. It begs involvement. I’m endlessly fascinated by the way these composers reach out to us through the centuries, asking us to engage with them, with their complicated and frequently difficult lives, their relentless drive to create music that will last and speak to us now.”

~Rachel Franklin, Baltimore Sun

Recent “Speaking of Music” courses