Rachel Steelman seeks to bring life to the stage just as she feels brilliantly alive on it. Singing brings Rachel innate joy as a performer so whether as principal of Dido & Aeneas with the St. Mary’s College of Maryland music department in 2019 or gigging with her jazz combo, “No Time Five,” from 2019 to 2021, Rachel’s passion and love of her craft is palpable. She takes pride in her empathy as a performer and focuses on creating a sensitive relationship with listeners, opening an emotional space so all can fully engage the story in the music. 

Rachel pursued her passion at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, earning a dual degree in music and psychology. Inspired to pursue music further after performances with pianists Brian Ganz and Beverly Babcock as the featured soloist for Brahms Requiem. St. Mary’s College of Maryland Jazz Band at the National Oyster Festival in 2019, with pianist Rie Moore in her recital in 2018 Fleeting, and regular performances at the National Shrine, among other locations, with the PING ensemble from 2017 until 2021, Rachel earned the the Barbara Bershon Arts Alliance Award in Music in 2019, as well as the Roberts Music Award in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

With her rapid growth as a performer, Rachel was accepted into the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University in 2021 where she currently studies with Professor Ah Young Hong and vocal coach Dr. Patrick O’Donnell. She is actively auditioning for local productions and collaborating with fellow artists in the Baltimore area. Rachel is currently a section leader in Peabody’s Camerata, is collaborating with the Michael Hersch composition studio, and will be attending the Bel Canto in Tuscany opera school this summer.

With tender beginnings writing and playing original music with her close friends, Rachel can appreciate culminating an intimate and vulnerable setting in which to experience music. She has been honored to work with local churches as a funeral and wedding singer, regular cantor, and section lead in her hometown, St. Mary’s County and now multiple churches around the Baltimore area. Rachel started her own voice studio in 2018, which provided a way to connect with people in a new fulfilling way, teaching students ranging from children to adults.

Rachel is investigating how individuals replication of pitch is affected by their cultural description of pitch, such as “high versus low” or “thick versus thin.” She is currently working on data analysis with Dr. James Mantell that is planned to be presented at the Psychonomics conference this coming year.

If you are interested in beginning voice lessons or need an event singer, please see the contact page!