What city are you living in now? Pikesville, MD
Where did you study? The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University
What is your favorite piece of music? Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar
What do you enjoy in your spare time? We’ve got 4 kids, so there’s not much spare time to be had…but I enjoy watching my boys’ baseball games, squeezing in some gardening when I can, and photo-journaling while I’m on the go.
What is your fondest Annapolis Symphony memory? José-Luis playing the harmonica!
Rachel Holaday began playing viola at the age of 9 in her hometown of Boise, Idaho. After a few seminal musical experiences, one of which included attending camp as a teenager with Hilary Hahn, Rachel decided to see where a musical life might lead her. She enrolled at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and completed two degrees there under the instruction of Victoria Chiang. She won a job with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra while she was still in school, and she won a job with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra shortly after graduating. She has now been playing with both orchestras for over 20 years. One of Rachel’s favorite things about pursuing music is how much of the world it has enabled her to see from a perspective that is not available as a tourist. She has toured with John Rutter and played concerts and operas under many great directors such as James Conlon, Robert Spano, Marin Alsop, and Eduard Melkus. She has played concerts in halls as far flung as the Sydney Opera House and the Cape Town City Hall, as well as the closer, but still majestic and historic Carnegie Hall. Rachel lives in Baltimore County with her husband and their four children, and she loves being involved with her kids’ extensive musical activities, especially by passing on her love of musical travel.