Jane Wells is a composer and community musician and her career has divided into time spent working in and around both London and East Anglia in the UK.
As a composer her music was first performed at London venues in Society for the Promotion of New Music concerts. Commissions such as Composition for clarinet quintet followed which received live performances and broadcasts on Radio 3. Jane also developed her interest in working across art forms and various pieces composed for dance and with film were performed at the ICA, Riverside Studios, regional festivals, abroad and on Channel 4 TV (of De Gas: ‘…set to a witty score for oboe and dripping water…’ New York Times).
She left London in 1987 to become composer/musician-in-residence at a small arts centre on the North Norfolk coast and wrote In These Places which was performed by John Harle with the County Youth Orchestra in Norwich. Subsequent large-scale pieces include To the Turning of the Millenium (for baritone, children’s choir, small ensemble and recorded sound), Here’s What I Saw (a half-evening of music-theatre) and Two Wings and a Prayer (toured 2015-16 in the UK by the European Union Chamber Orchestra).
Jane’s extensive career as a community musician developed from postgraduate level research around ‘creative music-making for adults outside formal education’. Since then she has worked as a music specialist workshop leader with people of many ages and abilities, a teacher in adult education, and as a mentor, action-researcher, trainer and project manager. This included setting up Norfolk Music Works which was very active for 20 years from 1990 and working for three years as Lincolnshire’s County Music Worker which led to the establishment of SoundLincs, the ongoing music agency for the County: ‘the three year programme was well received, with Jane Wells’ excellent communication skills and musical ability being the key to this success’ (from ‘SOUND impact, a study of soundLINCS first ten years’). During this time she was also a PRS Composer-in-Education.
Latterly Jane has led a series of creative projects with schoolchildren as part of the King’s Lynn Festival’s coffee concerts, facilitated singing groups particularly in support of mental wellbeing and established Elemental Percussion – an adult creative percussion group.
She has written many smaller scale compositions which in recent years have featured voices, piano, recorders, even classical ukulele. Some of this music is available through the online music store http://tutti.co.uk A mid-length CD of five small-scale pieces played by the Composers Ensemble is available on the Metier label (‘an engaging saxophone solo…a splendid miniature cantata…’ Tempo magazine).And the CD, ‘Pied Piper’, on the Campion Cameo label, includes her composition, Time Song.
