Rachel Masters trained at the Junior Guildhall with Sidonie Goossens and at the RCM with Marisa Robles. She was Principal Harp in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and won many prizes and scholarships whilst still a student.

She made her debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1983 and freelanced as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player until, in 1989, she became the Principal Harp in the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

With the LPO, she performs concerts regularly in London, throughout the UK, and worldwide, and each summer, opera at their Glyndebourne Festival residency. She has appeared as soloist with the LPO at the Royal Festival Hall and also with other principal players in the orchestra's Wigmore Hall chamber series.

Rachel Masters's recordings with Chandos and Decca are frequently broadcast, and cover key harp repertoire including concerti by Alwyn, Debussy, Ginastera, Gliere, and Mozart, as well as Ravel's Introduction and Allegro and Britten's Ceremony of Carols.

Through her work at the RCM, she is frequently invited to adjudicate for harp exams and competitions, and occasionally mentors advanced students who are particularly interested in following an orchestral pathway.