Rachel Pinkney began studying the cello when she was 13 and three years later had her debut solo performance with the El Paso Symphony in El Paso, Texas. She received her bachelors degree in cello performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and her masters degree from the University of Minnesota. She was a member of the Minnesota Opera Company orchestra, assistant principle of the Lima Symphony Orchestra, and performed regularly with the Toledo Symphony. She served as professor of cello at Ohio Northern University for 10 years. She has worked with master cellists Lawrence Lesser, Lynn Harrell, Timothy Eddy, Uri Vardi, Norman Fischer, and Robert DeMaine. Rachel returned to school in 2010 and obtained her PharmD. She now works as a clinical pharmacist, but still enjoys playing with the Windsor Symphony and playing chamber music with her husband, Florin Simioanca.
