Jan-Hendrik Harley (1980 – ) is a composer, arranger, and performer whose work explores music as a living, collaborative practice. Rooted in listening, performer interaction, and the reimagining of tradition, his work moves between composition, performance, and curation as interconnected modes of making.

His music has been performed across Africa, Europe, and North America, in contexts ranging from chamber and orchestral performance to film and audiovisual work. Alongside his concert music, he works extensively as a performer, arranger, and producer in both studio and live settings, shaping projects that emerge through rehearsal, recording, and shared musical experience.

At the centre of his practice is an interest in how musical knowledge is formed through doing—through listening, interaction, and the shifting relationships between performers. His work frequently engages with vernacular and historical traditions, not as fixed materials, but as living forms that are continually reinterpreted in new contexts.

He maintains an active performance career across violin, viola, mandolin, and historical instruments, and has developed a range of collaborative projects and ensembles that explore the space between tradition and contemporary practice. These include performance programmes, curated series, and commission-based work shaped in direct response to performers and context.

Jan-Hendrik holds degrees in composition, performance, and chamber music from the University of Stellenbosch and the University of North Texas, and is completing a PhD in Music Composition at Rhodes University. His research centres on listening and performer interaction as generative forces in composition, developed through practice-based work in rehearsal and performance contexts.