Rachel Handman

Violin

Violinist, Rachel Handman, is originally from Hyde Park, NY. Her virtuosity and improvisational ability appears in many musical forms, including classical, bluegrass, Irish, pop and folk. Broadway show credits include Dr. Zhivago, Something Rotten!, Miss Saigon, Carousel and currently, West Side Story.

Rachel is a long-standing member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and is Associate Concert Master of the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra. With recent and upcoming performances at Carnegie Hall, she also plays in the New York Oratorio Society Orchestra under the direction of Kent Tritle. She has toured Mexico with Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, and Germany, both on stage and in the orchestra with the shows My Fair Lady and On the Town.

Loving travel and exposure to other cultures, Rachel lived in La Paz, Bolivia where she was in the National Symphony of Bolivia, concertized with a string quartet, and eventually joined a Salsa band named Guapacha! After returning to the states, Rachel began fiddling and immersing herself in different folk and fiddle styles. With her band, Uncommon Ground, she has performed at many festivals, including the Doc Watson Festival, Carolina in the Fall, and Winter-Hawk festival. Rachel has also performed with Natalie Merchant, Norm Lewis, Jennifer Hudson, Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, and the legendary Ray Charles. She teaches fiddle workshops at Summer Strings, a music camp run by her family in Poughkeepsie, NY, and is a resident visiting artist at Music at Port Milford chamber music festival in Milford, Ontario.