Biography

Jan Mittelstaedt holds a BS in education from Bucknell University, a BA in music from Marylhurst University, and a MM in composition from the University of Portland. She has studied composition with Sister Anne Cecile Daigle at Marylhurst University and with Dr. Walter B. Saul II at the University of Portland and Warner Pacific College.

An independent teacher of piano and composition, Ms. Mittelstaedt has been involved in composition pedagogy since 1985. She has conducted workshops in composition and theory throughout the Northwest and is an adjudicator for student compositions.

Ms. Mittelstaedt is the composer of numerous educational pieces for piano. Among these, The Boston Music Co. has published four collections: Solo Snips; Splashes Of Color (featured in Piano and Keyboard magazine: May/June 1993); Sonatina For Youth; and Fabric And Frills. She also composes chamber music and sacred compositions. In 1993, she participated in the Ernest Bloch Composers Symposium with her Saxophone Quartet and in 1994, she was chosen Composer of the Year by the Oregon Music Teachers Association (OMTA). Her composition for flute and piano, Journey Through A Shadow, was performed at the OMTA state convention in June of that year.

Nationally certified in piano and composition by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), she has received many ASCAP Special Awards. Besides OMTA, she is a member of the Oregon Federation of Music Clubs, Mu Phi Epsilon, the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI), and the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers (CFAMC). Her biography is included in the International Who’s Who in Music and Musician’s Directory, Marquis Who’s Who of American Women, Marquis Who's Who in America, and 2000 Notable American Women (American Biographical Institute, Inc.).