Research in Biomechanics and Injury Prevention

Rae's expertise as a teacher and leading researcher in the fields of focal dystonia and injury prevention in musicians is built on the foundations of her earlier career as a concert pianist. For almost twenty years Rae was a prolific performer, playing around a hundred concerts a year, both nationally and internationally, as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. As a result of an overuse injury which abruptly ended her performance career, her teaching became her focus. Her own search for recovery led Rae towards the research into injury prevention and rehabilitation. Rae has since been involved in the assisting of a number of high profile pianists, including New Zealand’s leading concert pianist, Michael Houstoun to recover from injury. At the university, Rae was coordinator of the Musicians' Health Programme,  a collaborative programme between the School of Medicine and the School of Music.

As a result of Rae's research into the biomechanics of piano technique and injury prevention, Rae has devised a set of exercises that are suitable for students of all levels, which deal with the most basic movements involved in piano playing. In the years since these exercises were introduced to the students majoring in Piano Performance at the University of Auckland, there has been a reduction in the injuries reported. Rae has since expanded these exercises further into a multi-media publication and online course as part of a research project, Fit 4 Piano.