*Sigma Alpha Iota Member
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Annual Updates
2010
NEWS
The composer received her 20th consecutive ASCAPlus Award in 2009, and was included in several Marquis publications including Who’s Who in the World and Who’s Who of American Women. While continuing work as a composer and recording artist, she recently joined the staff of the New Mexico School of Music as keyboard instructor and lecturer in music history, continues to present lectures on music and religious studies at the OASIS Albuquerque campus, and serves as Director of Music for the Albuquerque (NM) Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. She was a guest on the international internet radio show You Be the Judge November 8, during which selections from the CD Following My Heart were played and she was interviewed about her career. Her CDs were broadcast regularly over Happyday New Age Radio (Seoul, Republic of Korea) throughout 2009, while DJ Vijayan Almeida of All-India Radio (Goa, India) has programmed many of her works on his weekly broadcasts. Her recorded work has also been heavily featured by KC Café Internet Radio. Her albums are available via major distributors worldwide including iTunes and Amazon.com.
From SAI's Winter 2010 PAN PIPES:
For the past twelve years, composer and SAI member Jane Ellen has served in the position of Director of the SAI Composers Bureau. In that capacity, she reviewed applicants for admission to the Bureau, served as a liaison between composers and SAI National Headquarters, and prepared the annual American Composers Update for the winter issues of PAN PIPES with editor Marcia Williams.
Now Jane is accepting new opportunities in her life and is stepping down as the Director of the Composers Bureau. The Fraternity would like to express deep appreciation to her for the selfless dedication she has shown to all the composers and to the annual composers issue.
We are proud that she maintains her active membership through the SAI International Chapter and the SAI National Alumnae Association. And we look forward to reading updates on her career in each winter issue of PAN PIPES.
Thank you, Jane!
PREMIERES
Several piano solos from the CD Following My Heart were introduced by the composer, including Colours of My Life, June 7; Raindance, July 5; Garden of Memory, August 2; and Autumn Skies, October 6, all for the Albuquerque (NM) Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Violinist Wesley Yu and pianist Amelia Leung introduced Away in a Manger December 19, the result of a collaborative arrangement between violinist Hanson Yu and the composer, El Paso (TX) Public Library.
PERFORMANCES
Wilma Gantz performed many of the composer’s piano solo works throughout 2009 including A Prayer for Peace, February 17,
La Vida Llena Music Ministry and A Child’s Heart in June, Covenant Presbyterian Church, both in Albuquerque. Organist Bonnilyn Neyens presented Be Still My Soul on May 25, First Christian Church, Metcalf, IA. A quartet from the Albuquerque Accordion Club performed Just for the Folk of It, June 19, 2009, at the Bear Canyon Center, Albuquerque, and June 20, at the Albuquerque Folk Festival, EXPO New Mexico Fairgrounds. Mass of the Faithful was sung throughout the summer months by various choirs at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church, Albuquerque, NM, and also used by cantor Lillian Pepple Kallina and keyboardist Neyens in December and January 2010 services at St. Martha’s Catholic Church, Wayland, MO. The youth of Paradise Hills United Methodist Church, under the direction of Mollie O’Meara, performed Christmas Legend, December 24, Albuquerque, NM.
RECORDINGS
Following My Heart, volume 3 in a series of original compositions as performed by the composer; includes Raindance, Keeper of My Heart, Vision of the Past, Garden of Memory, Deep Peace, High King of Heaven, Colours of My Life, Circle in Time, Early One Morning, Hold Fast to Dreams, Haven of Stone, Autumn Skies, Late at Night, and Follow Your Heart; guest artists Dan Wright (accordion), Ken Battat (percussion), and Sid Fendley (bass); JEMS Publications. Heartstrings, a CD of the composer’s works as arranged and orchestrated by Glyn Greenslade includes Comes a New Day, Lullabye, Green Hills of Eire, From My Heart, I’ll Remember You, Memories of Erin, As a Deer, November Rain, Dream With Me, and Into the Past; GSLADE Productions.
2009
Jane Ellen received her 19th consecutive ASCAP Award in 2008; her biography will be included in the 2009 editions of Who’s Who in American Women, Who’s Who in the United States, and Who’s Who in the World (all by Marquis). She continues work as a composer, arranger, and recording artist, and currently serves as Director of Music for the Albuquerque (NM) Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Spirit Within Radio (Lubbock, TX) broadcast tracks from Flowers in Winter, December 2007-January 2008, while Happyday New Age Radio (Seoul, South Korea) and Mystic Age Radio (Ft. Pierce, FL) began regularly broadcasting selections from the CDs From My Heart and Seasons of the Heart throughout 2008 and into 2009. In January 2008, Mystic Age Radio broadcast a live, two-hour show with the composer, during which in depth interview was combined with selections from all of her CDs. Composer Elizabeth Middleton chose Ellen to be a guest artist on her April 20 “Pianorama” CD release concert in Albuquerque, NM at the First Unitarian Church; the composer performed “A Child’s Heart” and “Prayer for Peace.”
PREMIERES
Four movements from a set of violin duets titled The Lonely Wanderer were presented December 22, 2007, by Hanson Yu and Wesley Yum as part of a chamber ensemble concert given at the Good Samaritan White Acres Retirement Community, in El Paso, TX; the complete set was given its premiere February 7, 2008, by the same performers. The composer premiered the new piano solo Deep Peace, and performed In the Bleak Mid-winter January 6, at a meeting of the Albuquerque (NM) Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. A quartet from the Albuquerque Accordion Club, under the direction of Dan Wright, introduced the commissioned work Just for the Folk of It, December 5, at The Montebello Center, Albuquerque, NM.
PERFORMANCES
Pianist Alessandra Celletti performed movements from Images of Rome in Rome, Italy, November 2007. The children of St. Columba’s Catholic Parish CCD presented Come and Sing Alleluia, for SA and piano, March 23, 2008, under the direction of Colleen McNally-Harris, Canfield, OH. Quodlibet, led by Marilyn Alletzhauser, presented the choral works Sweet Seduction (text: Claire Roth) and Dream Vacation (text: Roth) on April 13 and November 16 respectively, on concerts at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Albuquerque, NM. Organist William James Ross performed Danse des Esprits May 11, First Unitarian Universalist Church, San Antonio, TX.
PUBLICATIONS
Prayer for Peace, piano solo with accompanying text by Claire Roth, published by Songweavers Global Community as part of their ongoing project in acquiring songs dedicated to world peace. Air Raid, SATB a cappella; Dream Vacation, SATB and piano; Sweet Seduction, SATB and piano; all with texts by Roth; all by JEMS Publications.
RECORDINGS
EKKELINS KNECHT, Offizieller Soundtrack inspiriert vom Film von Peter Klewitz und Reinhard Kungel; includes Ausklang for Celtic harp, strings, and medieval percussion; King Ov Kingz Rekorz, Germany.
2008
Jane Ellen received her 18th consecutive ASCAP Award in 2007. A new CD, Flowers in Winter, was released in September to favorable response, and is garnering internet radio airplay. Her three CDs, distributed by CD Baby, Amazon.com, iTunes, and other major pay-for-download sites, have sold internationally in the Americas, the United Kingdom, parts of Europe, Central Asia, Korea, and Japan, and are now receiving internet radio airplay. In October, she was invited by the London-based charity SoundAid (www.soundaid.org) to contribute an extended play CD in support of Heifer International; the resulting album, Heartsounds, contains six original, previously-recorded, piano solos. Gonçalo Lourenço, director of Coro Odyssea in Lisbon, Portugal, announced that the choral work The Eternal Ring (featuring a text by frequent collaborator Claire Roth) has been added to the group’s concert repertoire for the 2009 concert series. Plans are in progress for a fourth CD of original works, and her biography will be listed in Who’s Who in America 2008 and Who’s Who in the World 2008 (25th Silver Anniversary Edition). You are invited to visit the composer at Classical Lounge (www.classicallounge.com/janeellen), My Space (www.myspace.com/janeellenmusic), or her website (www.janeellen.com).
Premieres
The composer introduced four piano solos April 1, 2007, at the World Peace Day Concert sponsored by the Albuquerque (NM) Unitarian Universalist Fellowship: Song of Peace, A Prayer for Peace (both of which included accompanying contemplative texts by Claire Roth, read by the Reverend Elizabeth McMaster), How Long Must We Wait, and Time for Rejoicing. The piano solos A Child’s Heart, The Eternal Rose, and In the Bleak Mid-Winter (Holst arr.), along with recorded selections from the CD Flowers in Winter, were presented by the composer at the October 27 OASIS Donor Appreciation Event, held at the Albuquerque (NM) Mennonite Church.
Performances
The composer performed A Child’s Heart for an Albuquerque Chapter OASIS Memorial, November 10, 2007.
Recordings
Flowers in Winter; six arrangements of traditional carols, and six original works; performed and produced by the composer, with guest artists Ken Battat; JEMS Publications. Heartsounds; six piano solos performed by the composer; SoundAid.