Rae was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, the second son and third child of Lesley and Tony Rae Department of Administration and Management. He attended Trinity Grammar School Preparatory, Strathfield, (1965–1968), Albury Grammar School (1969–1971) and Newington College (1972–1979) all schools where his father was on staff, the later two as Headmaster.
Newington College; Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
He is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with a degree in Composition. Rae has composed music for theatre productions at Belvoir Street and the Sydney Company. He has also worked as an actor in many productions with directors including Geoffrey and Jim Sharman.
lieutenant also features Geoffrey on several tracks reading poems that Rae has set to music
Rae has won the Australian Film Institute (American Film Institute), the Australian Performing Rights Association (Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration), the Film Critics Circle of Australia (Federal Communication Commission) and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) awards. He has also won a CLIO (New York) for his work in advertising.
