The notes of Mozart’s Clarinet Concert in A major swam out of a black Buffet Crampon clarinet and trickled into the music building’s hallway at the hands of a black cardigan donning music student.

Janet Cisneros, a promising clarinet player and music major, is no stranger to the embouchure or the technique used to develop the sound of the clarinet.

Cisneros began playing in middle school where she chose the clarinet instead of the saxophone.

“I intended to play [it] in the first place, but when the band director brought the clarinet out, that was like ‘Oh, I’m going to play that one.’ I was drawn to it,” Cisneros said.

“I still remember how giddy and full of life she was when she knew she wanted to pick the clarinet as her instrument at [Montebello Intermediate.] The first time I ever heard her play I knew she was always going to keep at it,” Luisa Cisneros, her younger sister said.

Surrounded by classic rock such as The Beatles and a grandmother who played the guitar, Cisneros’ musical foundation was set in childhood.

Cisneros began playing in a marching band with Montebello High School’s “Mighty Oiler Band” an experience she qualified as amazing.

She mused, “It was really an eye opener. It was musically challenging.”

During her high school experience, she underwent one of her most memorable moments.

In an outdoor setting, with Whittier’s Daily News present to interview her bandleader, Larry Covellone, who she listed as her mentor, Cisneros conducted Bach’s “Fugue in G minor.”

“That was the moment when I was like ‘this is what I want to do.’ It was one of those moments, like the clarinet, but for conducting,” Cisneros said.

She added, “I practiced what I could by observing him. He was an amazing influence when it came to conducting and his presence on the podium. I felt this energy and adrenaline, but I was really calm just went with it.”

The young musician was the only senior who was willing to conduct that spring, a tradition that Covellone allowed any student to undertake.

“He inspired me to think about music as a career and he is still my mentor to this day, we still keep in touch,” Cisneros added.

She attended East Los Angeles College, where she says lack of funding interfered with the music program.

One of Janet’s sister’s proudest moments came from the musician’s time at ELAC.

“The one huge moment I can remember that left an impression on me was when she played a solo piece with ELAC Symphonic Orchestra. Seeing her up on stage playing to a crowd with such calmness and intensity made me realize just how far she had come. It was a really proud moment for me to see her going for her dreams,” Luisa said.

Cisneros arrived at Cerritos in Fall 2009 and entered the applied music program.

“I’m not going to say that ELAC is a bad college, its just here the music program is a lot better, maybe due to funding and a wonderful director of bands, [like] Dr. David Betancourt,” Cisneros said.

“I could tell right away that she had a real desire to learn and become a band director. It also didn’t take long for me to realize that she was willing to put in the work to build her skills as a musician and teacher,” said Betancourt.

He partly attributes her success to her work ethic and “can-do” attitude.

Jason Lopez, Cisneros’ clarinet partner at Cerritos illustrates Janet as an expressive, technically proficient and humble musician who helps others when they need it.

“She is great to work with and I’m able to share some of my experiences with her and vice versa, which helps us learn music in an environment that doesn’t feel overly competitive,” Lopez said.

He added, “As a musician she impressed me because of her tone. A good tone on the clarinet is proof that you have taken the right steps to digest any musical education you’ve received, as well as the dedication to your craft. It’s rare, or nearly impossible, for anybody to just pick up an instrument and instantly sound good. It takes a lot of work and definitely does not happen overnight.”

The decision to become a bandleader did not come overnight either.

After she conducted Montebello High’s band, she immediately notified Covellone that she had found her calling.

“Don’t you want to have a family? As you can see this takes up a lot of time,” the bandleader responded.

Cisneros insisted that she did not go into the profession blind and knew of the sacrifices.

“There weren’t that many female band directors, there are more now, but at that time I remember going to competitions and looking everywhere and all I saw were male band directors and it’s not bad but I was like ‘Why aren’t there more women?,’ she added.

One of Cisneros’ goals is to break the glass ceiling.

“Of course its possible. Slowly but surely you begin to see [women in the field.] I think we’re getting more support.

“Some people [are] still stuck in a very different way of thought. What I would say is just go for it.

“I really want to finish my education and get my doctorate, that’s my long-term goal.”

Cisneros’ goal lies in teaching, but knows the difficulty of that happening straight out of college, so she stressed flexibility.

She added, “You have to be able to play other instruments and the wonderful thing about music is that you are exposed to so many other different options and that’s just the nature of the whole career. You can gig [or] you can be in the symphony if you’d like to.”

Betancourt said of Cisneros’ “I look forward to the day when I can call Janet a peer in our profession. She deserves success and I know she will achieve her dream of becoming a teacher.”

Cisneros has a favorable future ahead with submissions and auditions to The University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, Northern Arizona University School of Music and Azusa Pacific.

With positive responses from professors and a band director from the institutions she applied to, Cisneros’ talent will span to places much larger than the music building’s hallway at Cerritos that her music has filled.