Interviewer: How did your journey in music begin and what inspired your career as a musician?

My parents were against me doing music professionally, that is why I enrolled in college to study Information Technologies. The more I did it, the more I wanted to pursue music. Through a combination of factors, I eventually started teaching music. I had to work five jobs at one time and got burned out. In 2015, I quit my job and went on a long trip to Europe with my partner, now spouse. During that time I realized that I wanted to pursue composition professionally. By that time, I had been writing music for several years, but I have not been writing pretty much until I started my master’s degree. From there on, I just kept writing increasingly more and enjoying being a composer.

Interviewer: Which projects or musical achievements are you most proud of and why?

Jane: There are many musical projects I do enjoy. Probably I enjoy the most those that I am currently working on. I am in the process of writing several operas. It is a bit scary and new territory for me because I have only completed a micro-opera Bomb Squad Rhapsody (libretto by Germaine Shames) so far. Working on full-length operas is definitely a longer journey but I have been grateful for these opportunities to work with contemporary librettists. Another project that I am excited about is writing a choral commission based on texts by Iranian female poets. I am also working on a chamber piece for a wind trio.

Interviewer: With two master’s degrees and currently working towards a doctorate degree in Music Composition, how do you handle the increasing pressure and responsibility?

Jane: I enjoy learning, so that keeps me excited about pursuing a doctorate degree. I have not completed my coursework yet. Once it is done, I will focus on my dissertation, and that is where the real pressure is supposed to begin. I am just not there yet.

Interviewer: How do you stay organized and focused while managing multiple projects simultaneously?

Jane: That is simple, I just do not stay organized (ha-ha). The truth is I sometimes let things go the way they want to go. If something does not work in one project, I switch to another project, so that I do not just stagnate. What helps me is to dedicate a certain time every day to work on at least one of the projects. One of the latest practices I have been doing is to track the composing time. It helps me realize how much time approximately I need to spend on each project so that I could plan things ahead.

Interviewer: Please tell us more about your project exploring the interaction between jazz and tango and what interested you about this topic.

Jane: Exploring the interaction between jazz and tango was a part of my master’s thesis. It just so happened that I enjoy tango and jazz, and I have realized that a lot of musicians of the past and present mix both. I did some research on this topic and wrote a jazz-tango suite Tango at the Fingertips. Then, I kept writing in this style, so more pieces followed. Eventually, this project grew up into the album Tango Avenue that I released in 2020.

Interviewer: Can you describe your process of composing music, from the initial idea to the final product?

Jane: This process is a bit different depending on the piece and instrumentation. When I write a piece with the text, I spend a lot of time with the text first to understand its nuances. Then, I sketch out the melodic material. I am a melodic-driven composer, so usually those lines come first. Sometimes the harmony comes together with the melody, but both can be changed later. After I draft a piece on paper to some extent, I start engraving it. I never jump right into engraving. I know it might sound a bit old-fashioned, but I do enjoy working with just a pencil and paper, so nothing can take that away from me. Then, I do the edits. I do at least a few rounds of revisions. Even after the piece is premiered, there can still be some revisions.

Interviewer: How do you collaborate with other musicians and artists to create and perform music?

Jane: I obviously collaborate with performers and ensemble directors to get my music performed. In the past couple of years, I have especially spent much time building relationships with other composers and providing them with opportunities to get their music performed. I am a composer in residence with Celebris, a choral ensemble in Kalamazoo, MI, directed by Joel Snyder. For the past couple of years, Joel and I have been running the Celebris Composition Competition. Selected works from that competition get performed throughout the following concert season by Celebris. Also, I have started a concert series dedicated to women composers at the University of Florida. We did two concerts in February 2023 and had over forty performers been a part of it. This coming academic year, I am also helping out to facilitate the UF School of Music Call for Scores by Women Composers. As a result of this call, selected pieces are going to be performed during the 2023-2024 academic year by the ensembles.

Interviewer: Could you walk us through your rehearsal and performance process, and how it differs from your composition process?

Jane: As I was coming from the perspective of jazz composition originally, I often have been among the performers of my music and had to run the rehearsals. My job as a rehearsal leader is then to make sure that every member of the ensemble plays to the best of their abilities and brings their ideas to the table. With jazz music, performers are co-creators of music, so it is important that all of the performers get involved in the creative process. These days, I am writing more “classical” music, so oftentimes my participation is excluded from it.

Interviewer: Besides composing music, do you engage in any other professional activities? If so, please share about your other projects and how they intersect with your music.

Jane: I do teach, as it is a part of my teaching assistant job at the University of Florida. I enjoy teaching music theory and aural skills. I am also currently writing a book for the Jazz Arranging I course.

Other than music, I do photography. I especially enjoy doing portrait photography as it helps me to showcase a part of another human’s soul. I also capture music events, so this has become inseparable from my life as a musician.

Contact: https://www.janekmusic.com