Biography
At the slight age of 16, Rachel Wei, a Grade 11 student at Crofton House School, has already made a name for herself as an accomplished, virtuosic musician wielding the Piano, Violin, and Flute. Beginning at the age of six, as the winner of the Crescendo International Music Competition followed by an international debut on the Carnegie Hall Stage, she has frequented musical podiums at the national and international levels. Rachel received the Pacific International Youth Music Gala Scholarship with highest overall competition mark in 2016 and 2017; placed second in the nine-year-old category of the Canadian Music Competition National Final in 2017; obtained the Vancouver Academy of Music 27th and 28th Edith Lando Gifted Youth Scholarship in 2018; placed second in the Junior B category of the Performing Arts BC and invited to compete at the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition in 2019; won first prize in the Steinway Competition Canada in 2019 and 2020; placed first in the Bellagrande International Music Competition in 2020; received the Overall Award in the Steinway Competition Canada in 2021; achieved the National Gold Medal for the Royal Conservatory of Music Level 10 piano and the ARCT in Piano Performance Diploma in 2021; qualified as a finalist in the 2021 International e-Piano Competition; placed second in the Intermediate Piano and Intermediate Canadian Piano categories at the Performing Arts BC Association of Regional Festivals; was invited to perform at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Day of Music 2021 and 2022; ranked third at the fourteen-year-old category of the 2022 Canadian Music Competition National Finals; and earned third place at the 2022 BC Piano Competition. Most recently, Rachel completed Level 10 in Flute Performance with the Royal Conservatory of Music with First Class Honours, won the Pacific International Youth Music Society nineteen-year-old category, was invited to host a solo concert at the Chabad Richmond Jewish Synagogue, was chosen as an alternate for the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and was selected to participate in the Southeastern Piano Festival and Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition. She also currently serves as her school orchestra’s concertmaster.
Rachel is also an experienced orchestral performer, debuting in 2013, where she performed Concerto Op. 44 by Berkovich with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra in the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia. She returned the next year, performing Concertino in A Minor by Polunin. In 2017, she performed the first movement of Concerto K. 453 by Mozart with the Virtuosi Brunensis Orchestra in the Sala dei Notari at Music Fest Perugia, Italy. In 2018, Rachel won the Bjorn & Lori Hareid Provincial Concerto Competition, granting her the opportunity to perform the first movement of Piano Concerto No. 3 by Prokofiev with the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra at the Orpheum, a National Heritage Site. In 2022, she returned to Perugia, this time performing the third movement of Piano Concerto No. 2 by Beethoven. In 2023, Rachel competed as a finalist in the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Competition.
Beyond the concert stage, Rachel uses her musical talents to serve her community. In 2016, she launched the Beacon of Music Foundation, which organizes monthly concerts with local youth performers at the Maple Residences Senior Home. Since its inception, the foundation has brought together hundreds of youth musicians and created over 60 performance opportunities while increasing the accessibility of classical music, projecting the love and joy of every curated musical program to the community. Since 2019, Rachel has also served as an avid philanthropist dedicated to enriching the lives of those at the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. Through four annual charity concerts, Rachel raised over $43,430 for the Hospice—a sum she plans to inflate year after year, with her next concert occurring on March 8, 2024. In 2019, Tom Lee Music Canada awarded Rachel the Canadian Young Artist award in recognition of her service to her community through music. She was also awarded the Outstanding Young Ambassadors in Arts and Performance Award by the Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Hospital Foundation in 2022, as well as a nomination for the Outstanding Youth Philanthropist Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals on National Philanthropy Day in 2023. Further, Rachel was recognized as a Community Hero by the Vancouver Canucks, granting her the honour of cranking the siren pre-game in October.
Rachel currently studies piano with Dr. Wayne Weng. Her past references include Gary Graffman, David Fung, Jerome Lowenthal, Eric Lu, Tony Yike Yang, Boris Slutsky, Anthony De Mare, John O’Conor, Ian Jones, Markus Groh, and Charles Richard-Hamelin.
Despite an endless list of musical and philanthropic accolades, Rachel’s life is not bound by music. She was awarded the Seanna and Nicole Strongman ‘All Rounder’ award by Crofton House School in 2021 in recognition of her musical, athletic, and academic abilities. As the current Captain of her school’s Model United Nations Club, she has also educated many peers on the importance of engagement and discussion in past and current global issues, as well as the practice of diplomacy. She led the 2023 session of Horizons by Canadian High Schools Model United Nations as its Secretary-General—the most accessible and formative High-School run Model United Nations conference in North America. Over the course of a weekend, over 500 participants from as far as Nigeria gathered in Vancouver to engage in debate over global crises under a near dozen UN committees. Rachel adores literature and economics, frequently exploring poems and her next favourite novel, or researching how the global economy shapes how nations function and engage with each other. Rachel is also a valued player on her school’s Senior Field Hockey team, regularly competing with schools across the Lower Mainland.