Ann was born in Beloit, Wisconsin and raised in California. She studied with Burnet Atkinson (Principal piccolo in the Philedelphia Symphony Orchestra) and played at the Academy of the West Summer Courses in Santa Barbara. After coming to England she studied at Trinity College and The Royal Academy of Music with Harold Clarke, Lowry Saunders and Gareth Morris. She has played with the Philharmonia Orchestra, The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, The English Sinfonia, The Scottish Opera Orchestra, The Royal Ballet, The National Symphony Orchestra and The Wren Orchestra. In 1986 she was a founder member of The Flute Pastels, a quartette which among other things broadcast on Radio 2 and for which she did numerous arrangements.