Cello and Piano Duo of Dace Gregory and Rachel Palen: Swingin’ in the Rain Big Band

Dace Gregory, cello, and Rachel Palen, piano, share an evening of Musical Moments of Wonder.
World-renowned cellist Dace Gregory has performed as a soloist across the USA, Japan, and Europe. Born in Riga, Latvia, and educated at the Moscow Conservatory, her love of music was shaped early by her parents’ deep connection to emotion in sound and the natural world. Moving to Langlois in 2022, Gregory lives on a beautiful ranch with her life partner, Bennett. Festival audiences will remember her from 2024 and from her 2025 return as soloist performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor with the orchestra. She recently performed her first duo with pianist Rachel Palen at the Coos Singers Holiday Concert.
Rachel Palen was raised in Coos County and spent her early years developing a deep connection to the natural world and enjoying music. Rachel received praise early on for her raw, emotional piano performances. She studied at Southern Oregon University and Stony Brook in New York and became sought after as a performer and accompanist. After a career altering accident, Rachel returned to the coast and worked as accompanist for Coos Bay schools. In 2017, she was diagnosed with leukemia and has worked to continue her music and accommodate daily chemo treatments. In 2025, she and Dace collaborated to provide an outstanding performance for the Coos Singers Holiday Concert. This collaboration brought great joy to the performers and the audience and serves as a testament to the healing power of music.
Along with the locally based Swingin’ in the Rain Big Band, under the direction of Stephen Simpkins is composed of musicians with a strong interest in swing music with a desire to pass it on to new generations. The sounds of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey and others, plus favorites from the fifties and early sixties will provide a session of nostalgia and dance music that listeners will want to enjoy time and time again. We may see a few guest artists join the group for this concert.