Rachel Blumenthal is a Chicago-based flutist and piccoloist. She spends her summers performing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she was appointed Second Flute/Piccolo of the Santa Fe Opera in 2019. Rachel has held one-year positions at the Lyric Opera of Chicago (2022-2023) and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (2021-2022) and permanent positions in the Sarasota Opera Orchestra and Des Moines Symphony Orchestra. She enjoys a busy freelance career, where she is a frequent guest with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, and numerous other ensembles. She has also performed as a chamber musician at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Chicago’s Music of the Baroque.

 

In addition to performing, Rachel served on the chamber music faculty at the University of Chicago from 2018-2020 and has taught students of all ages across the United States. She has been a fellow at numerous summer music festivals, including the Tanglewood Music Center, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Brevard Music Center. 

 

Born and raised in Chicago, Rachel began her musical studies when her grandmother surprised her with a flute for her ninth birthday. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University. She is immensely grateful for the support and guidance of all of her teachers, most especially Jeanne Baxtresser and Amy Porter.