ABOUT RACHEL FLOWERS
www.rachelflowersmusic.com
A multi-talented instrumentalist and composer, Rachel Flowers is twenty-three years old and lives in Oxnard, California with her younger brother Vaughan and her mother, Jeanie, a singer and musician. She also has a close relationship with her father, Dan Flowers, also a musician. Born 15 weeks premature on December 21, 1993 in San Diego, California, Rachel’s birth weight was one pound five ounces. She lost her eyesight at three months old due to Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). 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. The child had perfect pitch.
Starting at the age of four Rachel became a student at the Southern California Conservatory of Music. Along with her study of flute, piano, and music fundamentals, it was at SCCM’s Braille Music Division that Rachel learned Braille Music Code and other adaptive computer music applications. 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. In 2005 and 2008 she was featured in two segments of the CBS News program, “60 Minutes“, about the Music Academy for the Blind in Los Angeles. She is a very active part of several jazz lineups in California and is composing original songs and orchestral works. Jazz, classical, soul, R+B, and progressive rock all play a part in helping Rachel forge a style that is as immensely accomplished as it is uniquely her own. Rachel is the subject of the award-winning feature documentary, “Hearing is Believing”, produced & directed by Lorenzo DeStefano.