Rachel Gawell, Cellist

New York City

Contact via email

Discography

Nadila 2018 Baba Sonya 

Probably 2017 Baba Sonya 

Feels 2016 tiides

The People Things Work Out For Sessions, The Album 2016 Baba Sonya

Paris Under Fire, 2015 Paris Under Fire

Pillow Talk, 2015 Stood With Ghosts

How To Land A Hot Air Balloon 2015 Baba Sonya

Deliverance River City Extension 2015

The Ballroom Thieves EP 2013 The Ballroom Thieves 

Sorry, kid. 2012 a balladeer

The Devil & The Deep 2012 The Ballroom Thieves

Dead Man's Hand 2010 Harpeth Rising

untitled 2009 Anorak

 

Languages

English 

French 

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Instruments

2005 James McKean Cello

Louis and Clark Carbon Fiber Cello

 

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Ensembles &  Touring Experience
Baba Sonya

​2014- Present 

Baba Sonya is the creative brainchild of Rachel Gawell with producer Mike Costaney.

Since 2015, this catalog of music has served as their outlet to confront thoughts of hope, loss, and existential uncertainty with jarring vulnerability and occasional levity. 

Baba Sonya's newest E.P. is titled "pistons & pistils" (2019)

River City Extension

​2013 - 2014

“This band is ripping the paint off the wall. These guys are playing like they're playing Madison Square Garden at midnight. These guys are closing Woodstock. Honestly! The place was about to explode...I'll never forget it, because when River City Extension finished their set...it wasn't just plain clapping, [the audience] physically were not letting the band leave the stage.” (Jay Sweet, Newport Folk Festival)

The Ballroom Thieves

​2011 - 2013

Indie folk-rock trio boasting 150 performances in its first two years. Notable performances include Summerfest, Canadian Music Week, The Sinclair, Mercury Lounge, Webster Hall, Yellow Phone Music Conference, and NACA Northern Plains. 

Harpeth Rising

​2010 - 2011

Folk/bluegrass quartet comprised of fiddle, cello, banjo, and hand drums. Notable performances during this period included Folk Alliance International official showcase, Club Passim, The Troubador Theater. Tours of Northeast and Southern US. 

Anorak

​2008 - 2009

Avant-garde improvisation trio comprised of cello, prepared piano (Andrea Taeggi), and drum set (Onno Govaert, Cactus Truck). Formed at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, Anorak's performances began in Amsterdam and Utrecht, The Netherlands, and culminated in tours of Northern Italy and the Northeast US.

Orchestral experience
Musical Theater

  • Handel Society of Dartmouth College

  • Cape Ann Symphony

  • New England Philharmonic

  • Bowling Green Western Symphony 

  • Ricciotti Ensemble

  • Codarts Symphonic Jazz Orchestra

  • Peabody Symphony Orchestra

  • Peabody Concert Orchestra

  • Fontainebleau Chamber Orchestra

  • Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra

  • Waitress the Musical, Brooks Atkinson Theater

  • Wings reading, Sunlight Studios

  • Bliss workshop, New 42 St Studios

  • Man In The Ceiling, Bay Street Theater

  • Death of the Moon, Jerry Orbach Theater

  • Home for the Holidays, Surflight Theater

  • Annie Get Your Gun, Winchester Children's Theater

  • 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Milton Academy

  • Die Zauberflote, Peabody Opera

  • The Turn of the Screw, Peabody Opera

  • Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Peabody Opera

  • A Little Night Music, Peabody Opera

Education
Rotterdams Conservatorium

​Postgraduate Studies 

Peabody Conservatory of Music

​Bachelor's of Music, Cello Performance, 2008 

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