The Janes
Trio
Christine Ranck · Sula Haska · Patti Wyss
Three voices. One joyful sound.
About The Janes
If one word describes The Janes’ music, that word is joyful. For many years, Christine Ranck, Sula Haska, and Patti Wyss brought audiences to their feet with soaring three-part harmonies, crisp musicianship, and a warm, playful stage presence.
The Janes drew on the great swing-era sister acts, including the Boswell Sisters, the McGuire Sisters, and the Andrews Sisters. They made that music their own with vocal arrangements written largely by Patti and her husband, composer Edmund Cionek. The trio performed with orchestras and at clubs, conferences, and events.
Meet The Janes
Christine Ranck
Christine Ranck, PhD, grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Her life changed during a high school summer at Interlochen Music Camp in Michigan, when she discovered she could sing. After earning a music degree from the Eastman School of Music, she moved to New York City to follow her love of singing and performing. The Janes was one of her first professional experiences in New York.
Christine is also a psychotherapist specializing in trauma; after 9/11 she worked with hundreds of firefighters and first responders. She co-wrote the bestselling book Ignite the Genius Within: Discover Your Full Potential (Penguin Books).
Sula Haska
Sula’s love of singing began in childhood. Her grandmother sang opera on the radio, and her mother was a concert pianist and community-theater singer in Queens, New York. Sula followed them, winning first vocal prize in her age group in a national contest while still in high school.
She was later credited as one of the first female rap artists with her song “Jungle Rap,” which played on New York’s top radio stations and topped the charts in Europe. She has also worked as a case manager and teacher in adult education for the NYC Department of Education.
Patti Wyss
Patti was born in Austin, Texas, and attended Interlochen the very same summer as Christine. They sang in the same small chorus there without ever meeting, and only discovered the coincidence years later through The Janes.
Patti was a singer, actor, arranger, and orchestrator whose work reached Broadway and orchestras across the country. With her husband, Edmund Cionek, she wrote most of The Janes’ vocal arrangements.
In Loving Memory
Patti Wyss
Passed August 15, 2021
Singing was perhaps Patti’s greatest passion, and The Janes held a special place in her heart. Over a career spanning swing vocal groups, Broadway orchestrations, theater, and recordings, she brought the same brightness to every song, and to everyone who sang beside her.
Her arrangements are the sound of The Janes. We miss her, and we sing on in her harmony.
Watch The Janes
Contact
We’d love to hear from you, whether you’re a longtime fan, a friend of the trio, or someone discovering The Janes for the first time.
© The Janes Trio · thejanestrio.com