Rachel Panay is a vocalist, pianist, songwriter, arranger, and educator whose work reflects a life immersed in music across performance, recording, and teaching.
A graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Berklee College of Music, she has developed a multifaceted career spanning dance/electronic music and jazz, with influences ranging from pop/R&B to disco, soulful house, and downtempo. As a recording artist and songwriter, her work has reached the Billboard Dance charts, including Back to Love (#2), I Still Believe (#7), and The Real Thing (#6), leading to collaborations with producers and DJ/remixers across the U.S. and internationally.
Her career has taken her from clubs and festivals throughout the United States to global stages and industry events including the Billboard Dance Music Summit in New York, the Winter Music Conference in Miami, and the Amsterdam Dance Event. Through songwriting collaborations connected with BMI, her work has extended internationally, including projects in Paris, Milan, Geneva, and Berlin.
A significant part of her artistic life has been rooted in LGBTQ+ clubs and Pride events, where she developed a strong and lasting connection with audiences, DJs, and fellow artists. Alongside this, she has remained deeply connected to jazz and acoustic music, drawing from both classic standards and reinterpreted jazz versions of pop songs, with a distinctly intimate and expressive approach to performance, shaped by a sense of play, humor, and emotional openness.
Today, her work brings these experiences together in both her artistic practice and her teaching in Washington, DC, where she works with students to develop skill, confidence, and a personal, lasting connection to music.