Jane Ellen is a composer and lifelong learning educator with multiple CDs and over 60 print publications to her credit. Currently living on the beautiful Florida Space Coast, she considers herself a citizen of the world and travels at every opportunity. Jane holds a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of New Mexico and received permanent Professional Masters certification from the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) in Washington, DC after completing 15 hours towards a Masters degree in composition.
Her first album, From My Heart, released in 2004, began a trilogy of CDs which included Seasons of the Heart in 2006 and Following My Heart in 2009. Additionally, she released a holiday themed CD in 2007 (Flowers in Winter), and has had her work appear on other albums including arrangements by composer Glyn Greenslade on his album Heartstrings.
Jane is the recipient of 24 consecutive ASCAPlus awards, and previously served for a decade as National Director of the Sigma Alpha Iota American Composers Bureau. She has won several national competitions for composition and received numerous choral and chamber music commissions.
Her film credits include composing a piece for the soundtrack to the 2008 German film Ekkelins Knecht and the theme for the documentary The Man Who Lost the Civil War (2002). Two of her piano solos also appeared in the soundtrack to the 2010 HS Maju Productions film Lukisan Hati. Her radio work includes the soundtrack for radio productions written and/or produced by Chris Dale; and for six years Jane collaborated on scripts for the national award-winning children's radio series Boombox Classroom.
Passionate about theatre, Jane has collaborated with various playwrights and works frequently in collaboration with lyricist Claire Roth. An avid history buff, Jane spent over 25 years providing lectures on music, history, and entertainment to the lifelong learning community through various organizations such as the Oasis Institute and the Osher Foundation (OLLI).