Jack Rain, Accompanist

Jack Rain is well known throughout the Tampa Bay area as an organ recitalist and accompanist.  He has served as organist at First Presbyterian Church, St. Petersburg, Florida, since 1969.  During this time, he has given over 100 organ recitals in this area alone, along with many others throughout Florida.  He has also served as Senior High Choir accompanist and official photographer at the famed Montreat Conference in North Carolina and was selected to perform for the American Guild of Organists in Atlanta.

He has performed internationally as well.  His appearances include concerts in the Marienheim Church at the Vienna International Ecumenical Seminar.  In 1981, he was granted permission by the Mexican government for a recital on the historical 1735 tracker organ of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City.  Choir tours of Scotland and Italy included playing for Sunday Mass at the Vatican as well as at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. In 2011, a choir pilgrimage to France included playing for mass at Chartres Cathedral and a choral concert at the Madeleine Church in Paris where Jack played several organ solos on the beautiful 1843 Cavaillé-Coll choir organ. 

Since 1973, Jack has worked at the University of South Florida in Tampa as staff accompanist for voice, choral, opera workshop, conducting, and ballet classes.  At USF he also teaches French, German and Italian diction for singers.  He has performed with the acclaimed USF Master Chorale, the Florida Orchestra and has been featured on six recordings by church, choral, and university groups.

Additionally, Jack has worked extensively in the musical theatre genre.  From 1977 to 1985, he worked as musical director and piano accompanist in the annual Broadway productions at Shorecrest Preparatory School (St. Petersburg).  From 1981 to 1985, he served as accompanist for the Spanish Little Theatre in Tampa.  Since 2004, Jack has worked as accompanist and diction coach/teacher for the annual Summer Vocal Institute at St. Petersburg College.   

Jack is a member of the Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg chapters of the American Guild of Organists.  He has served as dean of the St. Petersburg and Tampa chapters.  He is also a longtime member of the National Cathedral Association and the Organ Historical Society.

Jack graduated from the University of South Florida in 1969 where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Education, majoring in Spanish and minoring in French.  His piano studies were with Rebekah Orr of Tampa, and organ studies were with George Boyd, his predecessor at First Presbyterian Church, and Pierre Grandmaison at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montréal, Canada.  Jack enjoys photography, travel and international studies, having attended summer courses at the universities of Madrid, Vienna, Montréal and Guatemala.