Rae de Lisle is currently Head of Piano Studies at the University of Auckland. Her teaching has produced many outstanding young pianists, including prize winners in the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition, the Lev Vlassenko Australasian Piano Competition, the Bradshaw and Buono Competition in New York, and the Perrenoud Foundation International Piano Competition. In the 2008 Christchurch National Concerto Competition all three finalists had been her students. Further students are completing post gradute study in Germany, Austria, Italy, Britain and America.

As a pianist she studied in London with Brigitte Wild, Cyril Smith, Maria Curcio and Christopher Elton. Performances included concerts at the Wigmore Hall and in the BBC recital series. Rae returned to New Zealand in 1977 and for the next fifteen years was much in demand as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician, playing throughout New Zealand, as well as in North America. She recorded regularly for radio and television, receiving the Mobil Award for the best classical recording in 1990. She played concertos on many occasions with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and most of New Zealand’s regional orchestras.

She has done substantial research into musician’s injuries and is completing a PhD on focal dystonia, a devastating neurological condition which can end a musician’s career. She is also researching material for a book on piano technique and injury prevention. She has given presentations on London, Manchester, Turkey, Serbia, Portugal, Aspen and throughout Australia and New Zealand. She was key note speaker at the 2009 Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference and the 2010 Western Australia Music Teachers Conference.