JANET OATES
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Janet Oates is a composer, teacher, performer and conductor. She was awarded a PhD in composition from Royal Holloway having achieved a distinction in her MMus there under Simon Holt and Phil Cashian. She has written a chamber opera, Are there llamas? produced in Richmond in 2010, and an ensemble opera for amateurs (2012). An oratorio for baroque forces, Lilith, was performed by Isleworth Baroque in 2014 and in June 2018 a Borough New Music concert was dedicated to her works. Her songs and vocal works have won awards, and have been performed in several countries. She is an active member of the Richmond New Music Collective (co-founder) and CoMA (Contemporary Music for All), with whom she has edited two volumes of new music for choirs, published by Peters Edition. She began the ongoing project Theorbo Today in 2021 to invigorate and extend the repertoire of the theorbo (long-necked cousin of the lute); the project has produced over two dozen new works for the instrument, through workshops, concerts and commissions.

As a singer she enjoys contemporary song, both as a soloist premiering new works including those by Greg Rose, Rhiannon Randle and Tansy Davies, and as director/performer with the experimental vocal ensemble the CoMA Singers. She also sings early music in the ensemble Duo Maddalena, mainstream rep in her classical duo SopranoSoprano, and jazz/pop music in her a capella trio The Decibelles! She is artistic director of the professsional vocal ensemble Philomel, specialising in 17th century works and new commissions, with a focus on female composers. She aims to demystify contemporary music, and spread the joy and satisfaction of musical performance to as many people as possible through her choirs, workshops, teaching, performances and her own pieces.

©2024 Janet Oates. All rights reserved.

By Projonix