jane boxall

Jane Boxall is an adventurous composer-percussionist, working across diverse musical genres. As a soloist, collaborator and session player, Jane has performed in concert halls, art galleries, cafes, castles, kindergartens, hospitals, universities, forests and festivals from Cyprus to San Francisco, India to Quebec, and Manhattan to France. She is dedicated to new music, specializing in contemporary art music on marimba and vibes, and rock and hiphop drumkit for original artists. Born in England and raised in Scotland, Jane completed her BA and MA in Contemporary Music at the University of York (UK), and her Doctorate in Percussion Performance & Literature (minor in Composition & Theory) at the University of Illinois.  

Jane's compositions for percussion ensemble have been performed from Texas to Hong Kong; her studio recordings have received radio airplay across the United States, on the BBC and on the Dutch radio stations Concertzender and Radio Mona Lisa.  Jane’s recordings of Nancy Van de Vate’s marimba compositions are released on the Naxos label. Jane has appeared with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, TURNmusic, Guildhall Symphony Orchestra, Prairie Ensemble and the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble. In 2012, Jane premiered Garry Jones’s Concerto for Park Bench and Orchestra with the Event In A Tent Festival Orchestra – “I’ve never heard a park bench played so passionately,” stated the composer.

Jane is one of a very limited number of marimba artists worldwide to have developed a ten-mallet technique. Her 2012 album, Zero to Eight Mallets, has been enduringly popular with percussionists and non-percussionists alike. An album review in the Percussive Arts Society’s magazine Percussive Notes stated: “Jane Boxall’s CD is an eclectic mix of 100 years’ worth of music masterfully performed on marimba…Throughout the recording, Boxall’s performance is consistently excellent.” Of the 0-8 mallet concert program, composer and percussionist Brian Johnson opined:  “it is highly interesting, entertaining and intelligent.”

Jane is deeply committed to the development of art music for percussion, and continues to seek and create innovative and adventurous programs. In 2013, Jane was the recipient of a grant from the Vermont Community Foundation, which enabled her to undertake the inaugural “Portable Percussionist” tour on foot from Canada to Massachusetts. Jane commissioned local composers to write “portable” concert pieces then hiked the Long Trail through the state of Vermont, stopping along the way to perform solo percussion recitals. Composer Dennis Bathory-Kitsz commented: “Jane Boxall's Portable Percussionist was a brilliant presentation. She held the audience spellbound with the simplest of materials -- rocks, sticks, pots, and even the zippers on her pack. One composition student later said, ‘My mind was completely blown. I have to re-think everything about composing’."

Jane plays and endorses Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Coe Percussion marimbas, and Alternate Mode MIDI instruments. 

"a gymnast's flexibility and a surgeon's precision" Lake Champlain Weekly, 2020

“impressive [indrukwekkende]” Radio Mona Lisa, Netherlands

“Killer technique and inspired musicality” ~ Drum! magazine

 “She is pure fire” ~ Virago magazine

Drummer-percussionist Jane Boxall has toured on three continents, recorded on labels including Naxos and Fat Possum, and worked with artists from Armand Hammer to Jessi Zazu. Drum! magazine praised her “killer technique and inspired musicality”. Collaborators note:

• “Jane brings absolute technical mastery to everything she does. What makes her exceptional is that she brings absolute presence, heart and feel too” (Michael Chorney);

• “She is a joy to work with, both musically and professionally. She is dedicated, sincere, and brilliantly talented” (Corey Selover); 

• “Jane’s versatility and range make for a Swiss Army knife effect. I feel like I can bring her a variety of ideas, textures and soundscapes, and she plugs in effortlessly” (billy woods); 

• “Jane has a singular will to pursue and perform the arts, in sundry forms, and is not one to shy from a challenge” (BRZOWSKI); 

• “There are very few musicians in this world with the skill, depth and musical knowledge that Jane possesses. Among those talented people, none are as humble, fiercely loyal, or passionately dedicated to their craft and beliefs as she is” (Ceschi Ramos).

Jane endorses Adoro Drums, Coe Percussion, Vic Firth, and Alternate Mode. She holds a Doctorate in Percussion Performance from the University of Illinois, and lives in New York.