Jane Chapman

Jane Chapman is at the forefront of creating and inspiring new music for harpsichord. She has premiered over 200 solo, chamber and electroacoustic works for the instrument. Equally passionate about baroque and contemporary music, she has collaborated with ground-breaking composers, artists and dancers, working with musicians from the worlds of Indian music, jazz, and the avant-garde. Through her innovative performances, she aims to bring the harpsichord to a wider public, and to combine repertoire in ways that engage and challenge her audiences. “Her progressive spirit and comprehensive technique have inspired composers to forge new parameters and sound worlds for the harpsichord with works of unprecedented musical and technological scope” (Harpsichord & Fortepiano).

Harpsichord Reimagined – Resonances in Contemporary Music (Vision Edition) is co-edited by Jane and John Palmer. This book stems from the desire to re-contextualise the harpsichord, bringing it to the forefront of 21st-century musical discourse through collaborations with performers and composers.

The instrument’s increasing significance in contemporary music invites a fresh examination of its role not only as a historically rich instrument but also as a dynamic participant in modern performance arts and music technology. Jane has also compiled and edited two issues of Contemporary Music Review on the performance of new music for harpsichord.

Described as “Stylish and eloquent” by The Times, Jane’s recordings and recitals reveal both a scholarly and inventive approach to the baroque repertoire. Her CDs of 18th-century English music, The Lady’s Banquet, and of the 17th-century French Bauyn Manuscript, offered the first extensive overviews of important sources previously unexplored on disc and were both highly acclaimed – “One can count on technique to burn and faithful observance of stylistic conventions” (The Musical Times).

Her recording of The Oriental Miscellany, the first published transcription of Indian music in Western notation for harpsichord, was awarded the Preis der Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik for keyboard. Other recordings include WIRED, the first disc by British composers for harpsichord with electronics, ZOJI with Mark Wingfield (electric guitar) and Adriano Adewale (percussion), Three Windows with Iain Ballamy (sax). Her performance of Berio’s Rounds, part of a compilation of his solo works, was New York Times pick of the year and awarded the Preis der Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik.

Strange Blooms, originally conceived for Shobana Jeyasingh Dance, by Gabriel Prokofiev, creates an electronic transformation inspired by Louis Couperin’s Chaconne, La Complaignante. Three forthcoming discs include Tears no More by Roxanna Panufnik, lettura del labirinto by Richard Rijnvos, and Divertissements by Tom Armstrong in collaboration with Simon Zagorski-Thomas.

Jane received a British Council scholarship to study harpsichord with Ton Koopman at the Amsterdam Conservatory. She is harpsichord professor at the Royal College of Music, and was Turner Sims Fellow at the University of Southampton and artist in residence and King’s College London, supported by the Leverhulme Trust. She is an Honorary Fellow of Dartington College of Arts, and an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Music.

As well as performing, recording and publishing, Jane has worked extensively in the field of education. Through her work she aims to inspire a wide and diverse audience with an interest and knowledge of baroque and new music, and to encourage participation through composition and performance.

Jane has been a judge at the Moeck International recorder competition, the British Harpsichord Society Contemporary Harpsichord Composition Competition, the Horniman Composition Competition, the Jurow Harpsichord Competition, USA, (Historical Society of North America), Bach keyboard competition at the Royal Academy of Music, Prix Annelie de Man, Amsterdam.

She has participated in the CMPCP/IMR Performance/Research seminar series, and is an Affiliate Artist. She has lectured and examined at institutions such as the Guildhall School of Music, the Royal College of Music, Goldsmiths University, Keele University, City University, York University, Bristol University, on subjects such as Baroque music and approaches to improvisation, the Bauyn Manuscript and 17th century French harpsichord repertoire, contemporary music and the harpsichord, The Oriental Miscellany, L’art de toucher le Clavecin: new approaches to harpsichord composition and composer-performer collaboration, the collaborative process. She directs the student ensemble – Consort 21 at the RCM which draws together the Historical Performance and Composition departments, creating vibrant performance practice through collaboration and the exploration of new techniques and sound worlds using period instruments.

Jane was musician in residence (with Kate Ryder) at Goldsmiths College, and at CNMAT UC Berkeley. She collaborated with the Sonic Art Research Unit at Oxford Brookes University, and on the Intimate Handling project at the Royal College of Music. She has also worked with young composers at King’s College London, University of Liverpool, University of Southampton, Royal College of Music. UNAM Mexico City, UC Berkeley USA, NMK Norway. Junior Department at the Royal College of Music where she performed new works by 16 young students. Jane took part in the Symposium ‘Musical Instrument Collections Inspiring New Work’ at the Horniman Museum, London. Postgraduate students from Southampton University composed new works for the Guraccino Virginal (1668) in meantime tuning.

As well as pre-concert talks, she has taken part in many educational workshops for organisations such as the BMIC in London, and has been on a selection panel for the SPNM. Workshops and competitions for composers have included the Bangor Festival, and the NWNMP Harpsichordfest in Manchester. Jane has also worked with young composers at Dartington Summer School, giving baroque and contemporary performances as well as masterclasses. Jane was invited to give a presentation about her work (Harpsichord as cultural icon? A microcosm of creativity and reinvention) at Goldsmiths, University of London, to launch the Centre for Contemporary Music Cultures (CCMC). She is a consultant for the ABRSM.