Rachel Barton Pine

Think back to what you were doing when you were 10 years old. When she was 10, Chicago native Rachel Barton Pine (born 1974) made her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut. She went on to win many violin competitions and began her career as an international concert violinist. Tragically, her career and her life nearly came to an end in 1995 when she was severely injured in a commuter train accident. Forty surgeries later, Pine returned to the concert stage performing as soloist with major symphony orchestras around the world. In addition, Pine has had a successful recording career (38 albums) and started a foundation which provides funds for music education and performances as well as for musicians who haven’t yet made it big. While Rachel is best known as a classical musician, her musical tastes and talents range from medieval music to heavy metal and she is sometimes seen on stage playing her electric violin.

Why this stop? The Brown Line Western stop serves the Northwest Side neighborhood where Barton grew up.

Watch a clip of 10 year old Rachel perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Visit Rachel’s website to watch a more recent video of her playing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.