+++
date = "2015-10-02T12:36:00-04:00"
discipline = "Composer"
lastmod = "2015-10-02T12:36:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1443803666907/6rlzVn2j.jpeg.jpeg"
publishDate = "2015-10-02T12:36:00-04:00"
related_companies = ["scene/companies/vancouver-opera.md","scene/companies/halifax-summer-opera-festival.md"]
slug = "neil-weisensel"
title = "Neil Weisensel"
website = "http://www.neilmusic.com/live/"
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+++

Neil Weisensel is a composer based in Winnipeg, Canada. His seven operas, which have been critically and popularly acclaimed, have been performed across Canada and in the US, and he receives commissions, awards and prizes from performing arts organizations in Canada and the U.S. He has composed and arranged music for feature films, stage works, documentaries, and animation for networks including the CBC, *Bravo!*, and CTV.

Neil also co-directs World Village Gospel Choir, an ensemble he founded with his wife, the performing artist Rachel Landrecht. The WVGC have performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, rock and roll Hall of Fame group Heart, and appeared on Vision TV and Aboriginal People's Television Network.

As a composer, Neil works in a wide variety of genres, including jazz, rock, ethno-cultural, and world beat. He has also performed and recorded with artists such as Michael Buble, Russill Paul, Noirin Ni Riain and Brian Tate, and performed with Rachel Landrecht for luminaries such as Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

Neil is equally at home composing for the concert hall, opera, and dance. Internationally, he has produced music for large-scale multi-media installations such as the German pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany. He was nominated for a a Genie award in the Best Song category for the feature film *Here's To Life*, which he co-wrote with Michael Bublé. 

Neil has received grants, awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (U.S.), the Canada Council for the Arts, the Winnipeg, Manitoba and British Columbia Arts Councils, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, among others. His concert music, stage works and arrangements have been performed by Vancouver Opera, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Vancouver New Music, the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, Edmonton Opera, the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra, and Edmonton’s Hammerhead Consort. Neil lives in Winnipeg, Canada with Rachel and daughter Miracle.
