Rachel McFarlane's American Dialogue Premieres at Carnegie Hall

Just a year and a half after graduating from Berklee, composer and violinist Rachel McFarlane BM ’25 has already reached one of music's most prestigious stages: Carnegie Hall. Her commissioned work American Dialogue received its New York premiere at the legendary venue on October 16.

Performed by the acclaimed chamber orchestra Sphinx Virtuosi, the piece opened a concert on the ensemble's American Dialogues 250 tour, celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary. The performance also featured Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges and works by composers Damien Geter and Jessie Montgomery.

In American Dialogue, McFarlane uses a recurring musical motif to represent a conversation, transforming it throughout the composition as the music moves through moments of grief, tension, argument, and urgency. The work will travel to 11 additional venues across the country as part of the Sphinx Virtuosi's tour.

“What makes this feel so special is that I first learned about Sphinx through the Berklee Africana Studies Department, which brought Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory students to the Sphinx Connect fellowship program,” McFarlane said.

That initial connection eventually opened the door to her Carnegie Hall commission.

Originally from Canada, McFarlane graduated with a Bachelor of Music in film and media scoring and game and interactive media scoring. During her time at Berklee, she received several honors, including the EA/Berklee Charting Change Scholarship and the Bill Pierce MLK Scholarship. In her senior year, she was selected for a Berklee Experiential Design Lab project that took her to Vienna, Austria, where her original orchestral composition was recorded at Synchron Stage for Red Bull's production music library.

McFarlane has also served as a composer in residence for the Royal Conservatory's Oscar Peterson Program, which provides music education opportunities for young musicians from underserved communities. She currently works as a music project coordinator at Riot Games, the company behind League of Legends and Valorant.

Watch McFarlane deliver the student address at the 2025 commencement ceremony: