Janelle Lake

Janelle Jansen Lake is a creative and diverse, full-time harpist in Chicago. Equally comfortable with solo, chamber, and orchestral works, she specializes in contemporary, jazz, and pop music. Ms. Lake was recently appointed; as faculty; to Columbia College's Sherwood Conservatory of Music in downtown Chicago. She also teaches harp at the University of Chicago, and in her own private studio. Currently, she teaches between 30 and 40 harp students.

When not teaching, Ms. Lake's performance sphere reaches many far corners. She currently holds the principal harp position to the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, the DuPage Symphony Orchestra, the Southwest Symphony Orchestra, and the New Millenium chamber players. As an advocate of new music, Ms. Lake holds the principal harp position with the Chicago-based contemporary music ensemble Dal Niente. With this group she has performed a multitude of irregular harp techniques and has even invented a new technique to suit a composer's desire. She has premiered works by Augusta Reed Thomas, Drew Baker, and Kirsten Broberg. Some of her favorite new music performances include works by Jon Deak, Michael Daugherty, and Lucio Berio.

One of Ms. Lake's passions is meeting new people and taking part in their lives in a memorable way on a daily basis. Despite playing hundreds of weddings, funerals, and other services, each ceremony is unique to her. Most memorable performances for Ms. Lake include the National Republican Candidate conference (2007, MI), tea time and demitasse at the Grand Hotel (2007, Mackinac Island, MI), the opening of the Miller Park Baseball Stadium (2001, Milwaukee, WI), and the preview party for the international art and antique show with flutist, Kim Sopata (2008, Chicago's Merchandise Mart).

Janelle Lake received her Bachelors and Master of music degrees from Northwestern University. There, she studied with the harpist of the Lyric Opera, Elizabeth Cifani. "Liz" helped Janelle foster a love of arranging and writing music. Her most recent arrangement is a harp duet combining Gershwin's "An American in Paris" with "Rhapsody in Blue". As a supplement to the Suzuki method, Ms. Lake wrote a book "Beginning Music on Harp" that is currently up for publication.