Welcome to these pages about Daniel Jencka’s musical life, which has two creative outlets:
Performing harpsichord music from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Pre-Classical periods by composers famous and obscure.
Daniel has been interpreting this repertoire for over thirty years as a soloist and ensemble player. Guided by by knowledge of
performance practices from those times, and playing resonant recreations of the old instruments tuned to sound as they did
when the music was written, he brings this beautiful, intriguing, and varied music to life for his listeners.
Daniel gives concerts several times a year and is also available for public events and private occasions, including house concerts,
gallery openings, wedding ceremonies, educational presentations, and other cultural or celebratory gatherings. His repertoire is
continually expanding and includes well known composers such as Bach, Scarlatti, Telemann, Couperin, Purcell and Handel, and
many lesser known composers such as Soler, Albero, Boutmy, Gunn and others, whose masterful works deserve to be heard. As
an artist for hire in the “wild west”, Daniel humorously offers his musical with the phrase “Have Harpsichord, Will Travel!”
Composing music conceived for the heart and the intellect, with singable lines, rich harmonies and natural rhythms, set within
interesting contrapuntal and formal structures. But descriptions are no substitute for a listener’s own experience, so please visit
his Sibeliusmusic composer’s page to see, hear, or print his compositions. (If you have problems accessing scores at Sibeliusmusic,
they are also available here as pdfs and mp3s at the Compositions page.)
Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1956, Daniel Jencka has been playing the harpsichord since age sixteen. He studied with
early keyboard artist Penelope Crawford, and with Early Music performer and scholar Lyle Nordstrom. Daniel started com-
posing as a teenager, and later studied with American composer Stanley Hollingsworth.
Daniel co-founded Flauto e Basso with recorder and Baroque flute player, Thomas Cirtin, and his playing experience was taken
to the professional level in over a hundred concerts they gave in Michigan and Canada in the late 70s and early 80s. They
attracted large audiences at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Henry Ford Museum, the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, and other
prominent venues. He also played with other ensembles in the area, including the Detroit Symphony Bassoon Quartet and the
Renaissance City Orchestra. Daniel later lived in Bloomington, Indiana, Atlanta, Georgia, and San Diego, California, and
belonged to ensembles such as Le Nuove Musiche and Duo Galánt, the latter co-founded with Baroque flute player Fred Kasper.
Below is a link to some program covers from past performances and ensembles. Daniel now lives in the historic town of Las
Vegas, New Mexico, with his writer wife, interesting children, and various pets, including two dogs and parrots.
Have Harpsichord, Will Travel! You can reach Daniel to inquire about playing a concert or other event at 505-718-8044,
or email him at dwjencka@gmail.com