Concert pianist Anne Rainwater is a dexterous musician known for her vibrant interpretations of works from J.S. Bach to John Zorn. Recognized for her “boldly assertive rhetoric” (San Francisco Examiner) and “bright golden honeycomb for a brain” (Roy Doughty, poet), she engages audiences as a soloist, chamber musician and lecture artist around the country.

Anne has performed in venues and festivals throughout the US and Europe, including the Kennedy Center, the Donau Festival in Austria, Kampnagel in Germany, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, Mass MOCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, Cal Performances in Berkeley, California, and Bargemusic and Roulette in New York City. Diverse appearances include chamber music performances at Mass MOCA and Bargemusic, concerto performances at UC San Diego and Mendocino College, and radio interviews on KWMR, KZYX, KALW, and KALX. She curates a monthly musical gathering called the Vernon Salon Series, which she founded in 2016. Anne has released 3 solo albums – J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations (2018), Anywhere But Here (2020), featuring electronic keyboard works by Jude Traxler, and Ave Maria: Variations on a Theme by Giancinto Scelsi (2023), a vocal and piano work by Ian Power out on Carrier Records. She is a 2019 recipient of an InterMusic SF Grant. Anne is working on a series of long-form essays which explore the intersection of cognition, movement and ecosystems with the processes responsible for understanding and performing music. When not at the piano or writing, she is reading, running or obsessively watching baseball. Anne is a member of Beyond Artists, an organization whose members pledge to donate portions of their performance fees to organizations they support and care about.

Upcoming projects in the Fall of 2024 include an ARc duET recital on the Old St. Hilary series, a tour of Oklahoma with the Lang/Rainwater Project including premieres by the Iranian Female Composers Association, and a collaboration with the Peninsula Women’s Chorus and the Stanford University doctoral composers.

Artist Statement

My work explores hidden and overt moments of musical joy, wonder and whimsy. I enjoy probing the boundaries of time, speed and density as they reflect our frenetic, contemporary experiences. I tend towards works that include movement, electronics, vocalization, and extended pianistic techniques, and I particularly delight in exploring dense textures in contemporary and Baroque works. In my writing and teaching, I foster a detailed understanding of a work’s structural and expressive trajectory. As a performer, I guide audiences towards a deeper, collective experience, from moments of introspection to outward exhilaration. As someone who cares deeply about the Earth, I am a member of Beyond Artists, an organization whose members pledge to donate portions of their performance fees to organizations they support and care about.

Medium Biography

Concert pianist Anne Rainwater is a dexterous musician known for her vibrant interpretations of works from J.S. Bach to John Zorn. Recognized for her “boldly assertive rhetoric” (San Francisco Examiner) and “bright golden honeycomb for a brain” (Roy Doughty, poet), she appears as a soloist, chamber musician and lecture artist around the country. Anne has performed in venues and festivals throughout the US and Europe, including the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Donau Festival in Austria, Kampnagel in Germany, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, and Cal Performances in Berkeley, CA. Diverse appearances include radio interviews on KWMR, KZYX, KALW, and KALX, chamber music performances at Mass MOCA and Bargemusic, and concerto performances at UC San Diego and Mendocino College. She has taken part in two Bach Prelude and Fugue Marathons in San Francisco, where she was praised for her “sympathetic musicianship.” Other notable appearances include Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, Georgia’s Tuesday’s Music Live series, Tulane University, Princeton University, Mass MOCA and the Paramount Theatre.

Anne has collaborated with and premiered works by composers Scott Wollschleger, Nils Vigeland, Jude Traxler, Ken Thomson, Alex Temple, Stuart Saunders Smith, Stephen Lewis, Matthew Hough, Anne Hege, Danny Clay, and many others. She works regularly with pianist Emily Tian as ARc duET and with trombonist William Lang as the Lang/Rainwater Project. Will and Anne maintain a long-term commissioning project focusing on underrepresented communities in the low brass world. Anne curates a monthly musical gathering called the Vernon Salon Series, which she founded in 2016. She has released 3 solo albums – J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations (2018) and Anywhere But Here (2020), featuring solo works by Jude Traxler, and Ave Maria: Variations on a Theme by Giancinto Scelsi (2023), a vocal and piano work by Ian Power out on Carrier Records. She has also recorded for Original Abstractions, Bourbon Thomas Records, Pinna Records, New Focus Records, Subliminal Sounds, and Oberlin Conservatory’s Aural Capacity series.

Anne has been honored with residencies at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Blue Mountain Chamber Retreat and Hypatia-in-the-Woods, a unique residency program in Washington State that supports women from all artistic fields. For nearly 15 years, she has been a frequent guest artist at colleges and universities, giving presentations, lecture recitals and masterclasses throughout the country, including the University of Baltimore, Oaklahoma University, Witchita State University, Temple University, Louisiana State University, and others. She has also given multiple lectures at the Music Teachers’ Association of California Convention. Anne holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and the Manhattan School of Music. She is working on a series of long-form essays which explore the intersection of cognition, movement and ecosystems with the processes responsible for understanding and performing music. Anne works regularly with the Peninsula Women’s Chorus as their collaborative pianist collaboration, and together they are working on a project with Stanford University doctoral composers for the 2024-2025 season. She is a 2019 recipient of an InterMusic SF Grant. When not at the piano or writing, Anne is reading, running or obsessively watching baseball. She is a member of Beyond Artists, an organization whose members pledge to donate portions of their performance fees to organizations they support and care about.

Long Biography

  • While at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Anne was a member of the Contemporary Music Ensemble, working closely with conductor Tim Weiss and in collaboration with composer Oliver Knussen at Severance Hall in Cleveland. In 2004, she attended the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute and was a concerto competition winner on MacDowell’s Second Piano Concerto. Anne also attended the Aspen Music Festival and School for 2 summers, studying with Herbert Stessin, Gabriel Chodos and Joseph Kalichstein.

    She attended graduate school at the Manhattan School of Music on merit scholarships and lived in International House NYC, where she was a Performing Artist Fellow, coordinating monthly classical music salons. This experience inspired her to found her own Salon series in 2016, which she has been curating and running ever since. While at the Manhattan School of Music, she studied under the tutelage of pianists Anthony de Mare and Christopher Oldfather, who affectionately referred to her as a “special kind of extraterrestrial.” Upon graduation, Anne was selected to represent the Manhattan School of Music as part of the Kennedy Center’s Conservatory Project.

    Recognized for her “boldly assertive rhetoric” (San Francisco Examiner) and “bright golden honeycomb for a brain” (Roy Doughty, poet), she appears as a soloist, chamber musician and lecture artist around the country. Diverse appearances include radio interviews on KWMR, KZYX, KALW, and KALX, chamber music performances at Mass MOCA, Cal Performances and Bargemusic, and concerto performances at UC San Diego and Mendocino College. Anne has taken part in two Bach Prelude and Fugue Marathons in San Francisco, where she was praised for her “sympathetic musicianship.” Other notable appearances include Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, Georgia’s Tuesday’s Music Live series, Tulane University, Princeton University, CNMAT, and the Paramount Theatre. She has also held residencies at the University of Baltimore, Louisiana State University, Wichita State University, San Francisco State, and numerous other colleges and universities.

    For nearly the last 15 years, Anne has given presentations, lecture recitals and masterclasses at universities throughout the country, and she has also given multiple lectures at the Music Teachers’ Association of California Convention. She has given over 65 premieres of solo and ensemble works, from local Bay Area composers Danny Clay and Matthew Hough to East Coast composers Stuart Saunders Smith, Ken Thomson, Nils Vigeland and Scott Wollscheleger. Anne has also collaborated with and premiered works by composers Jude Traxler, Alex Temple, Stephen Lewis, Evan Ziporyn, Anne Hege, and many others. She works regularly with pianist Emily Tian, and trombonist William Lang, with whom she has a long-term commissioning project focusing on underrepresented communities in the low brass world.

    In-demand as a soloist and collaborator, Anne has worked with the San Francisco Contemporary Players, sfSound and the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. She has also collaborated with the ensembles loadbang, Oracle Hysterical, and the Swedish exotica band Ìxtahuele. Showcasing her musical range, Anne toured with the band CocoRosie and vogue dancer Leiomy Maldonado as part of their musical team at Kampnagel in Hamburg, Germany and the Donau Festival in Krems, Austria, where she arranged pop and opera pieces for the band. She has also worked with percussionists Ted Adkatz and Jack Van Geem on various projects.

    Anne has released 3 solo albums – J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations (2018) and Anywhere But Here (2020), featuring solo works by Jude Traxler, and Ave Maria: Variations on a Theme by Giancinto Scelsi (2023), a vocal and piano work by Ian Power out on Carrier Records. She has also recorded for Original Abstractions, New Focus Records, Bourbon Thomas Records, Pinna Records, Subliminal Sounds, and Oberlin Conservatory’s Aural Capacity series. Anne has been honored with residencies at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Blue Mountain Chamber Retreat and Hypatia-in-the-Woods, a unique residency program in Washington State that supports women from all artistic fields. She is a 2019 recipient of an InterMusic SF Grant.

    Anne has an active private piano studio in both the East Bay and the South Bay. Former students have gone on to Yale, Juilliard, University of Michigan, and other music schools and conservatories. She is working on a series of long-form essays which explore the intersection of cognition, movement and ecosystems with the processes responsible for understanding and performing music. Anne is the collaborative pianist for the Peninsula Women’s Chorus and has been known to fill in with them on other instruments, including cajon, bells, harmonium, organ and melodica. She is a member of Beyond Artists, an organization whose members pledge to donate portions of their performance fees to organizations they support and care about. When not at the piano or writing, Anne is reading, running or obsessively watching baseball.