Rachel Flowers

Rachel Flowers was born to Dan & Jeanie Flowers on December 21, 1993 in National City, California. Rachel arrived 15 weeks premature and her birth weight was one pound five ounces. She lost her eyesight at three months old due to retinopathy of prematurity. When she was two years old Rachel’s mother showed her how to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on the piano. Rachel picked up the melody immediately and was soon playing every song she heard by ear. Rachel had perfect pitch. At 4 1/2 years old Rachel began her formal music training through the Southern California Conservatory of Music, where she studied piano, music theory, ear training, music history, Braille music code, and adaptive computer music applications. This was later supplemented by courses at The Academy of Music for the Blind.

When she was 9 years old Rachel and her family moved to Ventura County. In middle school and high school Rachel played the flute with the concert band and marching band, along with the county honor band. She also learned to play the saxophone and mallet instruments. Other notable events during her high school years include scholarships for the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Camp and Stanford Jazz Residency, finalist for two years in the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards, Jazz Instrumental category, 2nd place and then winner of the Ventura County Student Jazz competition, and private instruction in advanced jazz improvisation through the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Upon graduation from Hueneme High School in 2012 Rachel was presented both the Semper Fidelis award for outstanding musicianship and the John Philip Sousa award.

Rachel works primarily in the jazz, classical, soul, R&B, and progressive idioms and has shared the stage with Dweezil Zappa, Arturo Sandoval, Taylor Eigsti, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Marc Bonilla, Jordan Rudess, Steve Porcaro, Rick Wakeman, Burt Bacharach, Bob Reynolds, Cuban legends Bobby Carcassés, Bellita Y Jazztumbatá, Orlando "Maraca" Valle, and The Santa Barbara Youth Symphony.

Rachel has participated in the Stanford Jazz Workshop and has made featured appearances at the Libbey Bowl in Ojai, California, the Clayton Piano Festival, the Blue Note Club in Honolulu, the 2016 Havana International Jazz Festival and will be featured at a Keith Emerson Tribute Concert in Birmingham, England in July 2017.

Rachel has performed for Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Herb Alpert, and Wayne Shorter. She is a very active part of several jazz lineups in California and is currently composing original songs and works for orchestra, jazz combo, piano, and voice.

On January 18, 2014 film director Lorenzo DeStefano saw Rachel perform at a local jazz club. From that initial meeting came nearly two years of filming, and completion of a feature length documentary. Hearing Is Believing has been playing in film festivals around the country and was released on June 16, 2017.

Rachel has brought home many ribbons, certificates, and awards as both a classical flutist and jazz pianist, including the John Phillip Souza Band Award, the Marine Corps Semper Fidelis Award for excellence in musicianship, and first place in the Ventura Music Festival’s 2011 Student Jazz Competition.

• 2016 - Listen