Born and raised in Seattle, WA, Anna Callner dove head and heart first into the rich world of the cello through her public middle school music program. After finishing high school in Seattle, Anna headed to the East Coast completing a double B. A. in Cello Performance and Russian Literature from Bard College in 2002, studying cello under the tutelage of Luis Garcia-Renart and Diane Chaplin. During her undergraduate studies Anna had the opportunity to study cello and poetry in St. Petersburg, Russia. After graduating from Bard College, Anna received a full scholarship to pursue her Master of Music in Cello Performance at Florida International University in Miami, FL. While at FIU she served as the teaching assistant to the Miami and Amernet String Quartets. Upon completion of her masters degree Anna moved to Brooklyn, NY where she spent a decade as an active performer in the classical, improvisational, and independent music scenes as well as the early music scene on her other instrument, the viola da gamba. In addition to performing, Anna is deeply dedicated to teaching. She is a passionate advocate for arts education and outreach, and positive social empowerment and engagement through the arts. The path of engaged and meaningful action is a driving force behind all that Anna does. During her time in New York City, Anna completed the Yearlong Meditation Teacher Training Program with The Interdependence Project, a program focusing on multi-lineage perspectives on Secular Buddhist study and meditation practices.
In January of 2014, motivated by an intense desire to be live closer to nature, Anna and her cello moved from Brooklyn, NY to Hawai'i, settling first on Hawai’i Island and then moving to the island of O'ahu, where she now makes her home with her husband, Ravi, and an ever- growing collection of instruments. Anna continues to build an active performing, teaching and recording career grounded in her ever developing practice of positive engaged action and collaboration with the natural, social and musical world around us.
Photo : Robin Anderson
Drawing: Sam Levy