When Rachel Gubler was a little girl growing up in Georgia, her shy but sweet spirit, had the deepest desire to express herself and the love she felt from her Heavenly Father. Singing and dancing was second nature to her, and she gained confidence as she performed.
Auditioning the first time at age nine, Rachel landed the title role in the musical, Annie. “When they called my name I immediately turned around to congratulate another Rachel who had auditioned. I was in total shock when I found out it was me.” Later that year, Rachel danced the part of Clara in The Nutcracker, one of fifteen ballets in which she would perform.
During her younger years, Rachel found a quote that would become her life’s theme: She didn’t know it couldn’t be done, so she went ahead and did it. “I worked hard, practiced all the time, and had a lot of experiences for which I’m very grateful. My parents were so supportive, but never elevated me to something I wasn’t or shouldn’t be.
Moving to Tennessee brought greater performance opporunities. She won talent competitions, a scholarship pageant, and placed third in a Regional NATS competition. She received some of her most cherished compliments from New York’s Master Ballet Teacher, David Howard during a Regional Dance Conference, as well as The Metropolitan Opera’s vocal coach, Charles Rieker, during a voice lesson at the University of Memphis. However, accolades didn’t automatically equal accomplishments.
Like so many youth, Rachel had her share of challenges including a ballet injury that ended her hopes of going professional and the onset of a serious illness days before her first performance at Walt Disney World. “When college started and I was cast as Little Red in Into the Woods as a first semester freshman, I definitely had high hopes of graduating as a ‘triple threat,’ but after much pondering I switched majors and schools.”
Rachel graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies, with an emphasis in Family Education. Her love to serve those with special needs continued as she worked at a preschool for children with autism, volunteered with the Utah Special Olympics, and taught music and dance to teens with Down syndrome. “The Lord was mindful of me, as He is all His children. I had learned to surrender my will to His, something that I knew would make me happier in the end.”
Throughout college, Rachel was active in church, as well as at the LDS Institute of Religion. She performed hymns and sacred music, including at LDS firesides for Sister Sherri Dew, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Sister Bonnie Parkin, and soloing on Temple Square. It was during church while Rachel was leading the music that her husband, Trent, first saw her.
Following their marriage in the Salt Lake Temple, Rachel moved to Las Vegas where her husband’s dental practice was established. As she had seen in the past, moving brought new opportunites, such as becoming a member of Gladys Knight’s Saints Unified Voices and recording a demo with David Day. “When I was recording My Soul Hungered, I felt a joy that only singing about the gospel and being with my family brings, and I knew… THIS is what I was born to do!”
Rachel released her first album June 22, 2010 and is enjoying the love of singing “all along the way.”
