In Perfect Harmony: An Exploration of the Collaboration between African American and Jewish musicians from the 1960s to today.

Rachel Franklin: British-born classical and jazz concert pianist. Dr. Rachel Franklin is a renowned performer and public speaker. Her acclaimed wit, scholarship and insights about music have led to countless speaking engagements for such distinguished organizations as the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, and National Public Radio.
Besides appreciating her performing artistry, her listeners rave about her warm, engaging style as she illustrates on the piano.
Since 2020 she has been greatly in demand for her unique online presentations. She is one of the Smithsonian Associates’ most popular live-streaming music lecturers, and her topics explore intersections between classical and jazz music, film scores, and the fine arts.
Rachel Franklin has recently joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as their Strathmore Music Scholar in Residence. She will be giving all the BSO’s pre-concert presentations at their Bethesda, MD venue, Strathmore Hall, as part of their “Inside the Classics” series. Last June she was one of the featured speakers at the Aspen Ideas: Health Conference in Colorado, presenting and performing on the subject of Music and the Natural World, a topic about which she’s also been interviewed by WHYY’s Maiken Scott for The Pulse. This past New Year she was invited to give the Plenary Lunchtime Performance for the prestigious Renaissance Weekend conference in Charleston, SC, and this May 2024 she will be the featured presenter for the Avalon Film Theatre Chevy Chase at their annual gala.
Rachel’s great passion is provoking connections and sparking imaginative pathways for her listeners and students, so their own creativity can be inspired by extraordinary musical art.
She has concertized in major halls across Europe, Canada and the US. The Washington Post has praised her “cool-headed bravura and panache” and the Baltimore Sun lauded “a flawless crystalline technique, and warmth and electricity in her playing.”