Janice G. Augustus
email: janco7music@aol.com

Janice Garnett Augustus (b. 1945) is a native of Cleveland, Ohio.  At an early age, she studied piano extensively under the tutelage of Rose P. Widder (protégé of Leopold Godowsky, Russian pianist and composer) and later also studied violin with Gino Antal (of The Cleveland Orchestra) and Helmut Braunlich (at Catholic University of America, Wash., D.C.).  She majored in violin and minored in piano at Howard University in Washington, D.C. under the direction of Louia Von Jones and Bernard Mason.  In addition to violin and piano, she is well-versed in many other instruments.  She has played violin in numerous orchestras and flute and piccolo in several bands.

Janice currently lives in Southern California with her husband, writer Michael G. Augustus.  She is the mother of five adult children and also has several grandchildren.  She played violin for a short while with the Beverly Hills Symphony, under the direction of the late Varujian Kojian.  Janice recently retired after twenty years as a teacher for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  She also served for twenty-six years as organist and director of two choirs for English and Bilingual Masses for which she used much original music.  Now able to devote almost full time to composing, she has completed several compositions for violin and piano.  Janice's music is dedicated to God and to her late mother, Willistine Garnett. 

Janice is a member of the Center for the Promotion of Contemporary Composers, the American Composers Forum, the Society of Composers, Incorporated, the International Alliance for Women in Music, the National Association of Composers, USA, and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Works

Six Miniatures for Violin, Op. 1, Nos. 1-6  (1998)
A delightful collection of short pieces.  Featuring themes that are throwbacks to the late Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic masters, the composer provides music that is enjoyable to play as well as to listen to.

Miniature Sonata for Violin, Op. 2  (1998)
Should not be mistaken for being either short or simple.  It lacks only traditional sonata form in being a sonata in the "classical" sense.   Excellent motivic use binds each movement from start to finish, and the use of the parallel minor for the slow movement adds an unusual harmonic touch.

Images of Zoria, Op. 3   (1998)
A lively sketch featuring an extended cadenza for the violin, this piece gives us glimpses into the life of Zoria Silvers, a fictitious character whose life may yet be set to words by the composer.

City Images, Op. 4   (1998)
Combines the violin and piano to produce a musical picture of city sounds.   Consonant and lyrical as the city is in its quieter times, dissonant and detached as it is when alive and busy, this piece is very effective in producing the desired images.

Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Op. 5   (1998)
A three-movement piece in which the composer utilizes instruments in an extended lively dialogue in the outer movements, while adding an interesting rhythm and tempo combination in the middle movement.

Miniature in Two Movements for Violin and Piano, Op. 6   (1998)
Consists of a slow movement resembling a nocturne, and a quick tempo movement with a distinctive dance flavor.

Miniature for Two Violins, Op. 7   (1998)
A three-movement work consisting of an up tempo first movement, a slow, lyrical second movement, and a running, almost canonic third movement.  Similar figures in all three movements tie the work together.

Miniature for Two Violins, Op. 8   (1998)
Three diverse movements beginning with the flavor of old Italy, a lushly romantic adagio, and a playful romp that bears a resemblance to Mozart.

Miniature for Two Violins, Op. 9  (1998)
Three movements of just plain enjoyable music.  The composer drives home her rhythmic motives throughout, but uses the melody to keep things from getting boring.  Lots of canonic sounds in typical Augustus fashion.

Miniature for Two Violins, Op. 10   (1998)
Augustus puts forth her own style with this work that features a few old and many more new melodic ideas woven into rhythmic ideas from earlier works.  A feature of Augustus' music now shows itself in the canonic passages scattered throughout.


You need the Flash Plugin to view this content