
Having trained initially in performing arts, Jane began her career as a puppeteer with the internationally acclaimed Purves Puppets in Scotland - performing in over 20 productions and touring such prestigious venues as the National Theatre in Taiwan and Auchtermuchty Village Hall.
After six years of people responding - 'You're a what???' after asking what she did for a living, Jane then went on to live and work for a community based in a rebuilt medieval abbey on the tiny (and windy) Hebridean island of Iona. It was here that she came to the conclusion that it was more fun to do music with, rather than for people. So began the transition from performer to enabler...
In order to deepen this experience she then completed a degree in Comunity Arts (specialising in music) at Strathclyde University in Glasgow: graduating with first class honours and a big caffeine habit! At the same time she came accross the Community Drum Circle movement in the USA (and now increasingly global), and so headed off to Hawaii (well... someone's got to...) to train with it's foremost exponent, Arthur Hull.
She now works all over the UK and abroad, encouraging all manner of people to engage in music; through singing and drumming in schools, conferences, community events and special needs groups. She has returned to Strathclyde university to teach community music.
Being something of a masochist, Jane continues her studies through researching for a PhD degree - with a particular focus on making music accessible to those with little or no musical experience - and hopes that this research will feed into her ongoing practical work and vice versa.
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