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 “sensitivity to performance and interpretation” (TEMPO Magazine), she engages audiences as a soloist, chamber musician, pedagogue and lecture artist around the United States.

Anne has appeared throughout the US, Canada and Europe, including at the Kennedy Center, the Donau Festival in Austria, Kampnagel in Germany, Severance Hall, Cal Performances, Roulette, the San Francisco MoMA, and Le Poisson Rouge. 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. For nearly twenty years, she has been a frequent guest artist at colleges and universities, giving presentations, lecture recitals and masterclasses throughout the country.

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), 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. That album was reviewed by composer Alex Huddleston, who wrote that it was “without a doubt the best music I’ve yet reviewed for TEMPO Magazine.” She has also recorded for Original Abstractions, Bourbon Thomas Records, Pinna Records, New Focus Recordings, Subliminal Sounds, and Oberlin Conservatory’s Aural Capacity series. Alongside trombonist William Lang, she performs as the Lang/Rainwater Project, a duo dedicated to championing traditionally underrepresented composers in the lower brass world, in addition to performing canonical trombone and piano works and transcriptions of classics.

Anne is a 2019 recipient of an InterMusic SF Grant. Inspired by an early interest in the writings of Fritjof Capra, she is working on a series of long-form essays that explore the intersection of nature, cognition, and musical practice, and particularly, the parallels between thriving ecosystems and optimal ways of understanding and performing music. Her writing and performing has taken her to residencies at the Arteles Creative Center, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Blue Mountain Chamber Retreat, Biophilium and Hypatia-in-the-Woods. She holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music’s Contemporary Performance Program and is also a proud alum of International House of New York. 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.

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, modern experiences. I gravitate towards works that include movement, electronics, vocalization, and extended pianistic techniques, and I particularly delight in exploring dense textures in contemporary and Baroque pieces. 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. I am interested in the intersection of nature, cognition, and music, and particularly, the parallels between thriving ecosystems and optimal ways of understanding and performing music. 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. My work has been praised for its “boldly assertive rhetoric” (San Francisco Examiner) and “sensitivity to performance and interpretation” (TEMPO Magazine), and I regularly engage audiences as a soloist, chamber musician and lecture artist around the United States.

Medium Biography

  • Anne has performed in venues and festivals throughout the US, Canada and Europe, including the Kennedy Center, the Donau Festival in Austria, Kampnagel in Germany, Severance Hall, Cal Performances, Princeton University, Roulette, the San Francisco MoMA, Stanford University, and Le Poisson Rouge. Diverse appearances include radio interviews on KWMR, KZYX, KALW, and KALX, chamber music performances at Mass MOCA, Bargemusic, Music@Noon at the University of Santa Clara, the University of the Pacifica, and The Garden of Memory, 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 Georgia’s Tuesday’s Music Live series, NYsoundcircuit, Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California.

    Anne has collaborated with and premiered works by composers Scott Wollschleger, Nils Vigeland, Ian Power, Jude Traxler, Ken Thomson, Alex Temple, Stuart Saunders Smith, Stephen Lewis, Matthew Hough, Anne Hege, Danny Clay, Jay Sydeman, Ryan Brown, 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 under-represented communities in the low brass world. In one of their most recent projects, they premiered 4 new works by composers from the Iranian Female Composers Initiative. 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. On that recording, she was praised for her “sensitivity and artistry” by composer Alex Huddleston, who includes that it was “without a doubt the best music I’ve yet reviewed for TEMPO.” Anne has also recorded for Original Abstractions, Bourbon Thomas Records, Pinna Records, New Focus Recordings, Subliminal Sounds, and Oberlin Conservatory’s Aural Capacity series. She is deeply thankful for her mentors - pianists Chris Oldfather and Joseph Bloom and composers Stuart Saunders Smith and Nils Vigeland.

    Anne has been honored with residencies at Arteles Creative Center, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Blue Mountain Chamber Retreat, Biophilium, and Hypatia-in-the-Woods, a unique residency program in Washington State that supports women from all artistic fields. For nearly twenty years, she has been a frequent guest artist at colleges and universities, giving presentations, lecture recitals and masterclasses throughout the country, including at the University of California Berkeley, the University of Baltimore, the University of Oklahoma, Witchita State University, Temple University, Troy University, Louisiana State University, and others. She has also given multiple lectures at the Music Teachers’ Association of California Convention and worked as a chamber music coach and competition adjudicator. Anne holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music’s Contemporary Performance Program and is also a proud alum of International House of New York. Inspired by an early interest in the writings of Fritjof Capra, she is working on a series of long-form essays which explore the intersection of nature, cognition, and music with the processes responsible for understanding and performing music. Anne is a 2019 recipient of an InterMusic SF Grant. 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.

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. 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 series in 2016, which she has been curating 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 “sensitivity to performance and interpretation” (TEMPO Magazine), 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, the San Francisco MoMA, Georgia’s Tuesday’s Music Live series, Tulane University, Princeton University, Stanford University, NYsoundcircuit, 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 the last fifteen years, Anne has given presentations, lecture recitals and masterclasses at universities throughout the country. She has also given multiple lectures at the Music Teachers’ Association of California Convention and worked as a chamber music coach and competition adjudicator. Anne has given over 80 premieres of solo and ensemble works, from local Bay Area composers Danny Clay, Ryan Brown, and Matthew Hough to East Coast composers Stuart Saunders Smith, Ken Thomson, Nils Vigeland and Scott Wollschleger, to international composers, including members of the Iranian Female Composer’s Association. She has also collaborated with and premiered works by composers Jude Traxler, Alex Temple, Stephen Lewis, Ian Power, Jay Sydeman, Anne Hege, and many others. Anne 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. On that recording, she was praised for her “sensitivity and artistry” by composer Alex Huddleston, who includes that it was “without a doubt the best music I’ve yet reviewed for TEMPO.” She has also recorded for Original Abstractions, New Focus Recordings, 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, Biophilium, Arteles Creative Center, 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 Pacifica. Former students have gone on to Yale, Juilliard, University of Michigan, and other music schools and conservatories. Inspired by an early interest in the writings of Fritjof Capra, she is working on a series of long-form essays that explore the intersection of nature, cognition, and music, and particularly, the parallels between thriving ecosystems and optimal ways of understanding and performing music. Anne is the collaborative pianist for the Peninsula Women’s Chorus and has filled in with them on many other instruments, including cajon, bells, triangle, 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.