Janelle Finton

About Janelle

Fascinated by many modes of creativity, Janelle Finton is a trumpeter, vocalist, and composer, who approaches music making and storytelling with wonder. She has performed with groups such as the Maria Schneider Orchestra, the Grace Fox Big Band, the John Daversa Big Band, the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra, DIVA Jazz Orchestra, and NYO Jazz at Carnegie Hall, where she toured Europe and Asia with Sean Jones, Dianne Reeves, and Kurt Elling.

As a composer, she has been recognized by Downbeat, the American Composer’s Forum, and is published with Brava Jazz. In 2024, she debuted her folk/jazz/chamber group joygarden, and had her concert band piece premiered at the Midwest Clinic. In 2025 she was commissioned by Carnegie Hall as an arranger for NYO Jazz, conducted the premiere at Carnegie, and on tour in Latin America.

As an educator, Finton is a lifelong learner, and shares this with students through private lessons, workshops, and guest artist residencies at schools/festivals across Chicago and the US. She has taught for the Illinois Music Education Association, Jazz in the Meadows Festival, College of Dupage, and various other programs. She holds a B.M. from the Frost School of Music, and will be starting her M.M. in jazz composition from the University of Southern California in the fall of 2026. She is continuously grateful to be able to share joy with people through her music! You can keep up to date with Finton’s music on her website at janellefinton.com.

Janelle Finton is a Bach Conn-Selmer endorsed artist.

As a lifelong learner, I invite my students into the practice of music, creativity, and joy through curiosity, inspiration, and wonder.