Draft:Janita Byars

Janita Kay Byars ( Ashby) is an American clarinettist. She was a valedictorian at Dalhart High School, got her Bachelor's at Indiana University, where she was awarded a performers' certificate, a masters' degree at the Manhattan School of Music, and a doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University. She made her professional debut at age 24 with her husband James at Carnegie Hall, performing a mix of older and contemporary works. Later, at that same venue, Byars would perform a program of clarinet paired with tape music, which a New York Times reviewer called "stimulating and smoothly executed, amply demonstrating Miss Byars's considerable technical prowess and musical flair." Between 1963 to 1968, she served as principal clarinet at the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. From 1994 to 1997, Byars was the principal of Jamestown High School, before being contreversially denied tenure. On November 21, 1997, she was appointed Director of the Arts at Rochester City School District after having run a similar program in New York City during the 1980s. She later became an associate professor at UNC Pembroke.

Personal life
She is the husband of James Byars, whom she married June 10, 1962. She is the mother of Chris Byars, and appeared on his album The Music of Duke Jordan.