The White Spruce

A highlight of the WoN spring concert, held on  May 3, 2026, Canadian Landscapes, was the premiere of The White Spruce, a newly commissioned work by Manitoba composer, Ryan Janzen. This piece stands as a tribute to the quiet strength and enduring beauty of our natural landscape, and to the resilience that defines so much of the Canadian spirit. To quote Ryan, “It's the story of the industrialization and population of Canada told through the lens of a tree. It's a story of change, destruction, but ultimately hope, nodding toward Manitoba's more recent reforestation efforts. I chose the white spruce specifically in the title, as it's the provincial tree of Manitoba. You may hear a line in the poem as well that references the "muddy waters" of Lake Winnipeg.”
We are deeply grateful to the Foundation for Choral Music in Manitoba, whose generous support made this commission possible.
…and, of course, our sincere thanks to Ryan Janzen…

Ryan T. Janzen is an emerging Winnipeg-born composer whose work centres on choral music, with a particular focus on bringing new texts to life. A 2023 graduate of the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music, Ryan has written for the University of Manitoba Concert Choir and the University Singers, with his choral work featured internationally on the University Singers’ 2023 tour to Spain.

Ryan is greatly honoured to collaborate with Women of Note in bringing a new work to the stage: The White Spruce, an original text exploring themes of nature and life in Manitoba. He extends his sincere thanks to Kirsten Schellenberg, Kimberly Lapatha, and the Women of Note Board for the opportunity to write for such an inspiring ensemble.

The world premiere of his piece performed by Women of Note has been posted on Ryan Janzen’s YouTube channel and may be accessed with this link:

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