INTERNATIONALLY renowned violinist and Brecon-based mother-of-two Rachel Podger will be giving two concerts at this year’s Three Choirs Festival.

The first is The Four Seasons at Wyastone Concert Hall on August 9 followed by Late Night Bach in Hereford Cathedral on August 13.

Educated in Germany and in England at the Guildhall School of Music, Rachel has established herself as a leading interpreter of the music of the Baroque and Classical periods. She was leader of the English Concert from 1997 to 2002. In 2004, she began a guest directorship with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and is in demand as a guest director, enjoying collaborations with Arte dei Suonatori (Poland), Musica Angelica and Santa Fe Pro Musica (USA), The Academy of Ancient Music and The European Union Baroque Orchestra.

Rachel’s recordings of J S Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin and his Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord (with Trevor Pinnock) were both awarded first place by the BBC’s Building a Library programme and her recording of Telemann’s Twelve Fantasies for Solo Violin won the prestigious Diapason d’Or.

Rachel lives in Brecon with her partner Tim and their daughters Carys and Rebecca, juggling rural life as a mother-of-two in the mountains with her busy life as an artist.