Soprano and arts advocate Rachel Spodek is currently pursuing her Performer’s Diploma at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the instruction of Michelle DeYoung. In summer 2023, Rachel joined the Bar Harbor Music Festival as a Young Artist, covering the role of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus. Other notable roles include Norina in Don Pasquale, Young Alyce in Glory Denied, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, all with Ball State Opera Theater, as well as Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Fiordiligi in scenes from Così fan Tutte, Lucy England (The Telephone), and Suor Osmina (Suor Angelica) with the Butler Opera Theatre. Rachel spent the summer of 2019 in Orvieto and Rome, Italy with the Operafestival di Roma, as Suor Osmina/La badessa (Suor Angelica) and Lucia in scenes from Lucia di Lammermoor. She is also a member of the Indianapolis Opera Chorus, recently appearing in their 50th Anniversary Legacy Gala in the spring of 2025 and their fall 2023 production of Carmen.

In the fall of 2021, Rachel placed third in the Great Lakes Region NATS Artist Awards. She was awarded first place in the 2020 Indiana Advanced College Treble and TBB Division of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions.

An advocate of both female composers and contemporary art song, Rachel was accepted to perform Libby Larsen’s song cycle "Songs from Letters: Calamity Jane to Her Daughter Janey (1880-1902)" with collaborative pianist Michael Scherperel at A Powerful Voice: Women in Music conference at Ball State University in March of 2020, which was cancelled due to the pandemic. Additionally, her Master’s thesis focused on the works of Amy Beach.

Rachel received her Master of Music and certificate in Entrepreneurial Studies in Music from Ball State University and her undergraduate degree in Voice Performance and Political Science from Butler University, where she studied with Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano Kirsten Gunlogson.

Rachel also aspires to combine her work in both fields of study: music and politics. Rachel has completed interdisciplinary undergraduate research on the impact of political culture on music and has written at length on the intersection of politics and music, with a particular focus on the sociopolitical context of classical era opera. Although her first passion is music performance, interdisciplinary research on the interface of persistent issues, both historical and contemporary, in music, gender, and politics has afforded her the opportunity to integrate her areas of scholarly interest, advocating for others and herself and as an artist.

In addition to vocal training, Rachel is a classically trained ballet dancer, performing with Muncie Ballet Studio for sixteen years. She is also trained in tap, jazz, and ballroom. Rachel currently resides in central Indiana with her two cats, Beatrice and Ophelia.