Meet the Musicians: Janet Rosen

Janet grew up in Woodbury, and after spending some time living in Pennsylvania, she moved back to Woodbury. It was shortly after this time that she first began to play with the Waterbury Symphony. She mentioned that the closeness of the orchestra to her home in Woodbury was one of the reasons why she chose to perform with the WSO.

Janet now lives in Milford, CT with her mother and two dogs. She has two sons, Matthew and Mark, who are both currently students at the University of Connecticut.

When I first asked about what she does with her spare time, Janet mentioned that most of her spare time is spent working on musical activities. She teaches music at Saxe Middle School in New Canaan and the religious school at the Congregation Mishkan Isreal. She also performs regularly with her trio, Trio Con Brio, and free lances with other area orchestras and chamber ensembles. However, when she does get some “real spare time,” as she calls it, she enjoys kayaking (see the picture accompanying this article), growing orchids, singing with the newly formed Zmirah Chorale (interestingly enough, still a musical activity!), and she has recently begun crocheting tote bags out of recycled plastic grocery bags.

I asked her about her experiences with music as a child and what led her to a career in music. Janet remembered her mother playing the piano with Janet and her sister singing with her – giving her an early presence of music. This grew into a love for music, and why not get paid to do something that you love? So, Janet pursued a career in music. Of course, we are glad that she did and very happy to have her as one of our oboe players!