She was back at the Top Tier Cabaret at Pianos Bar and Grill. She also directed "A Teen Cabaret" for TLC, the Theatre League of Clifton. She enjoyed singing a set of private parties, the holiday season and a Holiday Cabaret at Pianos, with an all-star cast.
She sang in the Celebration of Life Concert in September, prior the Provincetown Harbor Swim for Life. She swam across the harbor the next day! You can shut off the music below to hear the video.
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Recordings:
Janet has two recordings out. Janet's second CD CHRISTMAS CARD, combines her two favorite genres: Christmas music and jazz. She has sung for thousands during the Christmas season with cabaret shows,
school events and church solos. During the hottest weeks of July and August, Janet found some of the hottest jazz musicians in New York and created this very cool Christmas CD.
Janice Friedman - Musical director, arranger, piano
Brian Glassman - double bass,
Barbara Merjan - percussion,
Jessica Jones - flute, saxophone,
Cover photo by Gregg A. Martin,
Produced by Step One Productions, Linda Heard, executive producer
Recorded at Second Story Sound, NYC, Associate producer: Scott Lehrer
She won the Stonewall Society Pride in the Arts award for her first CD Something Wonderful. It is a recording of cabaret, jazz and show tunes based on her cabaret shows. It features Michael Tornick on Piano and Tony Soll on bass and guitar.
Here she is during the recording session of "Something Wonderful"in 2002.
They are both available at Apple iTunes, CD baby and Amazon.
Career:
Janet Villas has been a member of the NY City Opera chorus for 20 years. She was given the nickname "la Villas" by Greg Moore during a chorus job in 1984, to help Janet feel the inspiration of "La Callas", Maria Callas!
She's also sang lead roles with George Shirley in Transcendent Voices, and in Susanah and Suor Angelica. She is also an accomplished soloist in the classical repertoire.
She has sung many famous soprano solos at Christ Church in glamorous Glen Ridge, NJ, including the Mozart Ave Verum, the Faure Pie Jesu, a spiritual of
Were You There, Handel's Messiah, the Mozart Laudate Domine and the Alleluia. In addition she has appeared as both the Soprano and Mezzo soloist in the Bach "Magnificat" with the Grace Choral Society.
As a cabaret singer, She performed for the Frontrunner's benefit at the Pride Center in New York,
and performed with Dreamcatcher Rep theatre for their Holiday Cabaret. She also wrote and performed a tribute concert for Richard Rodgers' 100th birthday entitled, "Something Wonderful"
(interesting how the name matches the CD, huh?) at Oakeside Cultural Center in Bloomfield. Janet also performed a spring concert at Oakeside called "It might As Well be Spring".
She performed her third cabaret show "I Always Wanted to be A Fifth Dimension..." at Don't Tell Mama's in New York City in May, 2002. Neil Ginsberg was her musical director.
She performed her solo cabaret act"...but not for me!" at Don't Tell Mama's, in 2000. Her first show "Always" was performed at the Ballroom in NYC and was seen throughout New Jersey.
She has also performed benefits for"The Names Project", "Hearts and Voices, "the Jewish Guild for the Blind" and "The Race for the Cure".
Janet has appeared at many community events singing her jazz standards. She was a soloist at the Stonewall Chorale's holiday concerts at Merkin Hall in New York and in Ridgewood, NJ.
She has appeared at the Red Tower in Somerset, the Red Lion Cafe at the Rutgers University Student Center.
with Jim Jasion on piano. She also performed with Jim at a benefit for the Third Riverbank Association, an environmental activist group in Bloomfield, at Oakeside Cultural Center in Bloomfield, at Trenton Q-night, and for GAAMC in Morristown.
National Anthems:
She has sung both the Canadian and American National Anthems for the NY Mets. She made 21 appearances at Shea Stadium. She's also graced the New Jersey Jackals with the anthems.
In addition to baseball and softball, she has opened several NJ statewide celebrations with the anthem, especially the Maplewood Domestic Partnership celebration and Jersey City Pride. She has performed the anthem for politicians,
parties, charity events and memorial services.
She's also sung the National Anthem at Continental Arena for The NJ Devils. You can see her singing between Randy McKay and Claude Lemieux (#22). Go Devils!
And here she is singing God Bless America on the dugout at Shea Stadium. Let's go Mets!
Other recent stuff:
Here's Janet performing at the diva lounge in Montclair, NJ.
Janet was at the Holly Folly at the Fairbanks Inn in Provincetown, She appeared at The Fairbanks Inn with Karen Grenier and Suede.
She appeared with the Somerset Jazz Consortium. Here's a picture in Bloomfield with Jim Jasion, Bob Baylough and Andrew Lohse.
Other important things in her life:
Janet is a teacher at the Brooklyn Friends School. Here's Janet and her students on WNBC television with Janice Huff in May of 2001:
She was a triathlete, (she likes to put the "Try" back into "triathlete.") and is an ardent cyclist.
Janet will swim the "Swim for Life" in Provincetown for the 6th time this year. The 1.4 mile open water swim is a charity event benefitting people with AIDS and women with cancer.
She has completed the 130 mile Boston to Provincetown (in one day) bike ride three times. She has also completed the Harriman Park triathlon twice.
She has completed dozens of races in Central Park, eventually.
Here are Janet's links: You can buy her music at just about any online store.
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Janice Friedman - Musical director, arranger, piano 
Here she is during the recording session of "Something Wonderful"in 2002.
