Raquel Reis studied cello with Isabel Boiça at the Conservatório de Música de Aveiro Calouste Gulbenkian and completed her degree at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra, where her teacher was Paulo Gaio Lima. She received first prizes in the Caldas da Rainha Interpretation Competition, the Samuel and Elinor Thaviu Endowed Scholarship Competition in String Performance (Northwestern University) and the Winnetka Music Club Scholarship.

In 2007, she completed her Masters in String Performance at the Northwestern University School of Music in Chicago, with Hans Jensen. She was awarded scholarships by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Raquel Reis was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Spira Mirabilis Orchestra and has performed solo with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Orquestra Académica Metropolitana and the Orquestra Clássica de Espinho. She is a member of the Trio Pessoa, with which she recorded the CD Pessoa, dedicated to Portuguese music. She also recorded the CD of Portuguese and Brazilian music, Mundo Grande. She has been a member of the Gulbenkian Orchestra since September 2007.