Anna Atkinson is a singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and educator. Originally from Windsor, Ontario, she studied the viola at the University of Victoria before spending nine years immersed in Toronto’s creative music and theatre communities. She now lives in Montreal. 

Anna performs her own music under the name Linaire. The project’s self-titled debut album was released in October 2020. Using uncluttered electronic beats, ethereal synths, incandescent strings and poetically lucid lyrics, Linaire explores complex emotions, anxiety, ancestry and embodiment. Anna also has two albums released under her own name: Sky Stacked Full (2016) and Mooniture (2011). 

​Anna has contributed both as creator and performer to numerous projects across music, theatre, film and dance. She played in the Victoria-based duo Blue Richard and the Apricots and Toronto bands Grannis Bea and Words Around the Waist. She has composed music for productions at Tangente, The Centaur and Toronto Fringe and has performed in productions at The Theatre Centre, Soulpepper and The Stratford Festival

​​Of special interest to Anna is the connection between music, performance and the body. Her extensive experience with physical practices ranging from Olympic weightlifting and kettlebell to Feldenkrais and yoga, research on the nervous system, and her own experience with anxiety and disembodiment are among the complex and thoughtful threads she weaves throughout her personal art making, collaborations and teaching. 

Current collaborations include: The Inside, The Outside, a live audio/video performance featuring animations by video artist Elysha Poirier; and Les waitress sont tristes, a new play in creation by Montreal theatre company Joe, Jack et John. Anna is also writing new music for Linaire.