Jack n Jel
Mark Jackson and Jane Jelbart are community musicians based in Newcastle.
Mark established The Sum of The Parts (music); a community music business in Newcastle back in 2009 and Jane joined the business in 2012. Currently, Mark and Jane run 5 different weekly ukestras (ukulele orchestras) and 2 choirs in Newcastle, Australia. They have toured successfully as ukulele teachers and folk artists to North America, Asia and England but they are passionately dedicated to community building and music education within the Newcastle and Lower Hunter region.
Their daily activities - helping people make music together - draw upon 60+ combined years of performance experience in choirs, jazz, pop and folk bands, including Mark being a founding member of iconic 1980s Newcastle group The Castanet Club. He has been involved in music either as a performer or as a teacher for over 45 years.
They were the original powerhouse that established the Newkulele Festival in 2012 and 2014. Jane then went on to be Creative Director in 2016, 2018 and 2024. She is the current creative director. They both have supported the festival since its inception and it is considered by many artists to be the best ukulele festival in Australia. Education, community engagement and musical excellence have been the underpinning principles of this festival, and Mark and Jane have continued to be involved in the design and programming of the festival to ensure these objectives. It has been their inspiration to make this festival more broad in appeal by reaching out to other community music groups, such as choirs, orchestras, brass bands and percussion groups.
They are also the driving force of One Song Sing which is a massive pop-up choir that has done more than 40 songs since its inception in 2017. Their biggest choir gig was 1500 people last Christmas time singing "How to Make Gravy" (Paul Kelly). Mark, Jane and their students were featured on the ABC show "The Recording Studio" in 2019. They have made numerous radio "appearances" and are well known for making a successful business from playing music with others.