Rachel Begley, North Shore Recorder Virtuoso

Originally published in "The North Shoreian," Volume II, Issue 1 - January/February 2009

Appearing with prestigious orchestras and ensembles, teaching aspiring musicians, and travelling to and fro to perform, one North Shore resident is always seeking out the new and exciting. Rachel Begley is a recorder virtuoso and freelance musician living in Port Jefferson Station but performing and teaching throughout Long Island and the United States.

For Begley, early music has always held a special interest. She began her studies in England, but moved to the United States for Graduate work, eventually earning her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in recorder and early music from SUNY Stony Brook in 1997. She is a recorder virtuoso, but also plays historical bassoon (baroque and classical). "Older ones [bassoons] have a different number of keys," she explains, referring to the number of finger holes of the older bassoons compared to the number of keys on a modern bassoon. She slips seamlessly into being the educator without breaking the humorous and casual nature of the conversation. She continues, "The older ones don't have keys. Modern ones have keys that solve some of the problems." It seems that the baroque and classical instruments experienced peculiarities in intonation which resulted in unique tonal colors when the instrument was played in different key centers. "Composers took advantage of the tone colors and wrote for the instrument with them in mind."

Begley's studies in the United States began at Indiana University's Early Music Institue. She moved to New York to pursue her Doctorate and has been based here since. "She is active as both soloist and orchestral player, and appears regularly with such ensembles as the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, the American Classical Orchestra, New York Collegium, Concert Royal, the Long Island Baroque Ensemble, and Philomel." She has performed as a soloist at the prestigious Boston and Berkeley Early Music Festivals, in addition to performing concertos and giving recitals across the country. She co-founded the New Amsterdam Recorder Trio which, "… was founded in 2001 by three recorder virtuosi, from England, Israel and the Netherlands, now living in New York." Their name is taken from the original name for New York, and it also reflects both the more recent recognition of Amsterdam as the “recorder capital” of the world and their desire to break new ground in the art of recorder playing.

Her musical interests are not greatly restricted by the period in which her instruments flourished. "I swing through phases," she says. "This precise weekend I'm in the 12th century because I'm performing 'Daniel' at the Cloisters. Last week I was in the 18th century. Generally, whatever I'm doing is what I want to be doing." She finds that being a freelance musician gives her the freedom to go where the opportunities are best. "You do pick and choose [from] what comes your way. I do enjoy more interesting projects."

With NewART she gets to explore a broad range of material. "… NewART performs medieval, renaissance, baroque and modern music, as well as arrangements of traditional/world music, and their collection of instruments numbers more than two dozen recorders from makers around the world." They have appeared in concert throughout the New York tri-state area, and have performed with prestigious ensembles including the world-renowned Flanders Recorder Quartet. Their concerts have earned them both local "… and national acclaim and in 2004 they were featured in the inaugural New York Early Music Celebration, and appeared in concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York."

As a performer, Begley is always aware of her influence over the audience. "When I'm playing … I try to bring some passion into it." She understands that the audience will respond to the intensity of the performance and it's that intensity that can enrapture even today's over-stimulated audiences. In her words, she strives for a dramatic performance. "I do love drama because it engages people in that moment." In her performance of "Daniel" at the Cloisters this past December she was, "in costume. I sing, I dance, I play - all from memory. Each time it's performed it's a new interpretation because there's much improvisation. Even the rhythm is unnoted. Whatever I performed today will not be what happens tomorrow." It's exactly this type of dramatic role that she searches for, and she knows that the audiences it, too. "I think that's why people love opera, there is music plus."

Begley doesn't have much of a routine, preferring to do what she finds interesting. In addition to her performing career, Rachel teaches privately and at festivals and workshops in the US and Europe, and is Music Director for the Recorder Society of Long Island. As Music Director for RSLI her goal, "is to provide stimulating and varied opportunities for players," and, "to provide an interesting program of opportunities for players of all levels." She has a warmth and a humor about her that makes her very approachable. Working with students and workshop participants, she can answer questions and tell jokes almost simultaneously and never seems to lose sight of the goal. Her demeanor is not snobbish or elitist. Instead, she approaches music with a cross between business-like professionalism and the easygoing spirit of a summer picnic.