Dr. Janet Brenneman

Dr. Janet Brenneman is Associate Professor of Music at Canadian Mennonite University, where she teaches music education and conducts the CMU Singers, the CMU Women’s Chorus, and the CMU Festival Chorus. These choirs feature regularly in performance locally, across Canada, on Golden West Broadcasting, and as guest artists of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. During her time at CMU, the choirs have produced several recordings.

Originally from Ontario, Dr. Brenneman has conducted children’s choirs, community choirs, university choirs and taught elementary music education in Ontario, Michigan, and in Manitoba. Active in the Winnipeg music community, Janet was a conductor for Pembina Trails Voices from 2003-2014, where she conducted the boys and high school men’s choirs. Currently, she is the conductor of Renaissance Voices, a chamber choir in Winnipeg that specializes in music of the 16th Century, and she is the conductor of the Faith and Life Women’s Chorus, a community chorus of Mennonite Church Manitoba comprised of women from Winnipeg and regions across southern Manitoba.

After more than 20 years teaching at CMU, Janet’s passion for music education and teaching others how to be educators is still as strong as ever. “I think my passion lies in the collaborative aspect of teaching. I love learning from my students, as much as I love facilitating their learning. I love discovering together with them new ways of doing things, new possibilities for repertoire.”

Last season Dr. Brenneman was the guest conductor for the WSO’s annual performance of Handel’s Messiah. She led both the orchestra and the CMU Festival Chorus in wonderful performance of the holiday favourite.