Claire Howard Race obtained First Class Honours and the University Medal from Newcastle Conservatorium, NSW, before continuing her postgraduate piano accompaniment studies at the Canberra School of Music and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow with John Thwaites, where she was awarded the Broadwood Junior Piano Accompanist Fellowship.

She subsequently earned a Master of Music in Performance and Research with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she studied with Malcolm Martineau and Iain Ledingham. She is currently the Assistant Chorus Master and Principal Rehearsal Pianist for the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.