Janet Bratton, Alto 2

by Allison Hieger

Janet Bratton was elected to the Board in 2001 and has been a singer in the OCWC since 1999. She is a native southern Californian – born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. Music has always been part of her life. Janet’s mother, Pat, was a wonderful mezzo-soprano who sang at churches and women’s clubs. Janet initially took piano lessons and moved on to playing the violin (because she had one) in her junior high school orchestra. As a teenager, she rebelled against the violin and took up folk guitar (it was the 70’s). With encouragement from her Mom, Janet then took up classical guitar and eventually earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from California State University Los Angeles.

After deciding that she wanted music to be an avocation rather than an occupation, Janet moved to Fullerton to work at Hughes Aircraft and pursued a second bachelor’s degree in mathematics. All-in-all, it was an excellent decision as she met her husband, Tom Nichols, at Hughes. Music was their connection, since Tom is an avid barbershop singer, arranger, director, and quartet coach. Janet joined the OCWC in 1999 after her sister, Kathy Baldasari (also a current singer and board member), insisted that she really needed to sing with this group!

Janet and Tom retired from aerospace in 2012, and she has been enjoying more time for music, quilting, and their cat Arthur (that she adopted from Trina Walker, a fellow OCWC singer). Janet serves as the OCWC board member responsible for operations, and she and her team manage all the front-of-house and back-of-house tasks for every performance and concert reception. We deeply appreciate her commitment to the OCWC!

Adopt Janet

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