Rachel Fortin was born in 1980 in Prague, Czech Republic. She began to study the violin at the age of seven at the Prague Music School. 1995–2004 she studied at the Jan Neruda Grammar School for Music as well as at the Prague Conservatory. At the same time she travelled abroad to study in various master classes, among others with Ruggiero Ricci, Semion Yaroshevich und Viktor Pikayzen.
2005 she attended Robert Zimansky’s violin class at the Academy for Music and Theater in Zurich. In 2007 she proceeded to study with Sebastian Hamann at the Music School in Lucerne. In addition to her numerous performances as a soloist and as a member of various chamber music ensembles, Rachel Fortin has been pursuing her career as a composer.
During her years of studying composition in Prague, especially with her teacher and spiritus rector Milan Slavický, she composed several works which were first performed in Prague. This included two string quartets and her highly acclaimed Double Concerto for Violin, Violoncello, and Orchestra.
She received several composition commissions, including for the orchestra Baden/Schweiz (Lamento; 2007) and for Mayuko Kamio (Dark Angel, a piece for violin and piano 2008), which led to her winning the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.