Janika Vandervelde is widely known as a composer of music for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, and the stage. Her catalog of nearly 100 works is published by Hothouse Press, earthsongs, and Boosey & Hawkes. She has been commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Chanticleer, Dale Warland Singers, Minnesota Chorale, Guthrie Theater, Southern Theater, Melbourne (Australia) Chamber Choir, Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, Minnesota All-State Girls’ Chorus, pipa virtuoso Gao Hong, and accordionist Joseph Petric, among many others, and is listed in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and International Who’s Who in Classical Music.

In 2004, her choral storybook, Adventures of the Black Dot, was released commercially on the Innova label.