Janice Garnett Augustus was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 31, 1945. She is the wife of writer Michael G. Augustus, mother of five children and has several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Beginning at an early age, she studied piano extensively under the tutelage of Rose Widder (protege of Leopold Godowsky, Russian pianist and composer) and studied violin with Gino Antal (of the Cleveland Symphony). She majored in violin at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and has played violin in numerous orchestras as well as flute and piccolo in several bands.

Janice now resides in Southern California. She retired in 1996 after twenty years as a teacher for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and twenty-six years as organist and director of two choirs for English and Bilingual Masses for which she used much original music. Now able to devote almost full time to composing, she has recently completed several compositions, mostly for violin and piano.

Janice is a member of the Center for the Promotion of Contemporary Composers, the American Composers Forum, the Society of Composers, Incorporated, the International Alliance for Women in Music, the National Association of Composers, USA, and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.