Janelle Barrera’s passion for conducting first took flight in high school under the direction of her Band Director, Mr. Warren Hunt. At the collegiate level, Ms. Barrera chose to pursue both flute performance and the art of wind conducting. Ms. Barrera began her conducting studies with Mr. John Alan Carnahan, Director of Bands at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach.

While working on her Masters in Flute Performance at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington, Janelle continued to study conducting privately with the Director of Bands, Dr. Stephen W. Pratt. As a student at the Jacobs School of Music, Ms. Barrera had the honor of conducting the premier performance of Martin Kennedy's "A Pantry Ballet in Four Acts" for Flute Choir.

In 2009, Janelle accepted the position of Flute Instructor at the prestigious Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, where she leads the weekly Flute Master Class and Flute Ensemble. That same year she also became the founder and conductor of the Los Angeles Flute Guild’s "Flüt Än-säm-bəl". Every Summer the ensemble presents several community concerts, including a special performance at the Orange County Fair. Between 2010-12, Ms. Barrera was the director of the Southern California Philharmonic Youth Orchestra’s Flute Choir.

Janelle is currently the conductor of the San Francisco Flute Society's Flutes by the Sea Summer Master Class with Viviana Guzma. Ms. Barrera is a strong advocate for promoting new compositions specifically written for flute choir.