British composer Rachel Portman made history as the first female composer to win an Academy Award, receiving the prestigious honor for her score in the film Emma. Additionally, she was the first female composer to win a Primetime Emmy Award, which she received for her work on the film Bessie.
Throughout her illustrious career, Rachel Portman has received numerous accolades, including two further Academy Award nominations for her scores in The Cider House Rules and Chocolat, as well as a Golden Globe nomination.
In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the world of music, Rachel Portman was bestowed an OBE in 2010 and was named an honorary fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. She is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Music.
Rachel Portman's extensive repertoire includes stage and concert commissions, such as a musical adaptation of Little House on the Prairie and an opera based on Saint Exupery's beloved classic, The Little Prince, which premiered with the Houston Grand Opera.
For the BBC Proms, she composed The Water Diviner, a dramatic choral symphony. She also penned 'Endangered' for the World Environment Day Concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Other notable works include Earth Song for the BBC Singers, a solo piano album titled Ask The River, and her most recent collaboration with Joyce Di Donato, The First Morning of the World, as part of her Eden program.
