Rachel O’Brien (she/her) is a Toronto-based music director, pianist, and educator born and raised in Truro, Nova Scotia. Most recently she was the music director and conductor of the 2024 Charlottetown Festival season (Anne of Green Gables – The Musical and Jersey Boys). In previous seasons there she collaborated with Bob Foster & his co-writers as his associate music director on the world premieres of Maggie and Tell Tale Harbour. Her involvement in these productions included national tours of both, from Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, Ontario to the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia (Maggie), and to all the Arts and Culture centres across Newfoundland and Labrador (Tell Tale Harbour).
Rachel’s Toronto theatre credits include: associate conductor for the Canadian premiere of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (Crow’s Theatre/Musical Stage Co), original music director of Alice in Wonderland (Bad Hats Theatre/Soulpepper) and After the Rain (Tarragon/Musical Stage Co), and assistant conductor on Disney’s The Lion King (Mirvish). She holds a Bachelor of Music from Mount Allison University, and she is a former music intern at the Shaw Festival where she trained under the mentorship of Paul Sportelli.