Janice Giteck facts for kids

Janice Giteck (born June 27, 1946, in New York) is an American composer. She writes music for different instruments and groups.

About Janice Giteck

Janice Giteck grew up in Hicksville, Long Island. When she was twelve, her family moved to Arizona. She went to Mills College and earned her Master's degree in 1969. There, she studied music with a famous composer named Darius Milhaud.

Later, she also studied with Olivier Messiaen. She learned about Indonesian gamelan music from Daniel Schmidt. Gamelan is a type of traditional music from Indonesia, played with many percussion instruments. She also studied percussion with Obo Addy.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Janice Giteck's music became very popular. Her style was greatly inspired by world music. It also included influences from the music of Native American people.

She has won several awards for her music. These include the National Endowment for the Arts Composer's award for her piece Breathing Songs from a Turning Sky. She also received the Norman Fromm Composers Award for Thunder, Like a White Bear Dancing.

In 1986, Giteck went back to school. She earned another Master's degree, this time in psychology. From 1986 to 1991, she worked helping people with their mental health. Since 1979, she has taught music at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.

Her music often includes sounds from different cultures and traditions. In 1999, Janice Giteck and composer Ann Sandifur said they were "life-oriented, not career oriented." This means they focused on living a full life, not just their jobs. They wanted to be good at many things, not just one.

Music Recordings

Janice Giteck's music has been released on several albums. Here are some of her recordings:

• New Performance Group in Music (Mode Records, 1988)
• Home (Revisited) (New Albion, 1992)

List of Works

Janice Giteck has composed many pieces of music. Here is a list of some of her works:

• Thunder, Like a White Bear Dancing (1977)
• Callin' Home Coyote (1978)
• TREE (1981) - commissioned by San Francisco Symphony
• Soundtrack for Hopi:Songs of the Fourth World (1983)
• Breathing Songs from a Turning Sky (1980; revised 1984)
• Om Shanti (1986)
• Soundtrack for Hearts and Hands (1987)
• Tapasya (1987)
• Leningrad Spring (1992)
• Home (Revisited) (1992)
• Soundtrack for Rabbit in the Moon (1999)
• Soundtrack for Daddy & Papa (2002)
• Ishi (2004) - commissioned by Seattle Chamber Players
• Accompanying music for Rene Yung's art installation Four Dignities (2005)