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Rachael Beesley is an internationally renowned Australian violinist, director, concertmaster and educator specialising in the field of historically informed performance. As guest concertmaster with Europe’s most distinguished HIP ensembles and orchestras including Anima Eterna Brugge, La Petite Bande and the New Dutch Academy, and as guest director of Les Muffatti in Brussels and NZBarok in Auckland, Rachael has performed in festivals and concert halls worldwide.

In Australia, Rachael is co-artistic director and concertmaster of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, which she co-founded in 2013, and has performed as guest concertmaster with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera. Rachael is regularly invited to guest direct modern orchestras from the violin, including the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Adelaide Chamber Players.

Rachael features on over 50 album recordings and broadcasts for radio and television and is much in demand as a chamber musician and soloist, regularly collaborating with contemporary Australian composers as well as exploring repertoire from the 17th to the 21st centuries on period instruments.

As a highly regarded educator and mentor, Rachael teaches and lectures at the Melbourne and Sydney Conservatoriums of Music, the Royal Conservatoire in Den Haag, The Netherlands, and at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University. Rachael has been awarded an Ian Potter Cultural Trust grant and is listed in the Who’s Who of Australian Women.