BENTLEY, Jane Dr

United Kingdom

Jane Bentley is a drummer, singer, and music in healthcare practitioner and consultant, based in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2011 she was awarded her PhD based on interactive improvisation, highlighting the effects of group music making on human wellbeing.

For over 20 years she has worked with people in healthcare, prison services, communities, businesses, and performing groups.  She has trained musicians, educators, music therapists, and healthcare staff from Brighton to Bangalore.

Her work with mental health has been recognised through the Epic award for the best voluntary arts project in Scotland and inspired the formation of several other drumming groups for mental and social wellbeing.

In 2018, she spent a year as an Atlantic fellow for Equity in Global Brain Health, at the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College, Dublin, exploring the interaction between music and brain health.

As a musician, she plays with the Ha Orchestra, an African diaspora orchestra playing newly composed music on traditional instruments, and folk trio Siskin Green. She has been an integral fangirl for 25 years.