Bio
Spencer Kryzanowski is a conductor, répétiteur, vocal coach, and prairie boy now based in Toronto, Ontario via St. Albert, Alberta. Currently, he is a staff member in the University of Toronto Opera department as a conductor, répétiteur, and vocal coach; the resident répétiteur for Against the Grain Theatre's Opera Pub series in Toronto; music director with Bravo Academy for the Performing Arts; and resident conductor with Pop Goes the Opera in Edmonton, Alberta.
Spencer thrives on collaborating with all artists in the rehearsal room and on stage. For Spencer, creating brave spaces where everyone's voice and input is valued and where singers and musicians can explore the full range of their artistic practice is essential for all projects.
As a conductor and music director, Spencer has worked on numerous opera and musical theatre productions across Canada. Most recently, he music directed Mean Girls: The Musical with Bravo Academy and Hank & Gremlin with Good Mess Opera. Hank & Gremlin is a new adaptation of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, featuring an exciting and timely libretto by Sawyer Craig that will be made into a feature-length claymation movie.
Spencer made his conducting debut with University of Toronto Opera in January 2023, conducting Disobedience, a new opera written by UofT's Student Composer Collective. His other conducting and music directing credits include Puccini's Il tabarro, Arthur Benjamin's A Tale of Two Cities, Puccini’s La bohème, Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Rebecca and the Bad Wizard, a children's opera.
Spencer's recent répétiteur credits include Nino Rota's Il cappello di paglia di Firenze and a comedic triple-bill of Hindemith's Hin und zurück, Offenbach's Monsieur Choufleuri, and Douglas Moore's Gallantry. Other credits include Humperdink's Hänsel und Gretel (Berlin Opera Academy); Copland's The Tender Land; Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia; Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi; and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Spencer had the pleasure of workshopping Melancholia, an opera based on the Lars von Trier film, by Mikael Karlsson and Royce Vavrek in 2023 for the Royal Swedish Opera.
In 2024, Spencer will assist as a répétiteur and vocal coach in a collaborative workshop of Indians on Vacation by Ian Cusson and Royce Vavrek (a collaboration with Against the Grain Theatre and Edmonton Opera). Additionally, Spencer will also act as assistant conductor on UofT Opera's spring production of Massenet's Cendrillon and will music direct Alan Menken's Newsies with Bravo Academy for the Performing Arts.
Spencer has participated in a number of prestigious training programs in Canada and Europe including the Opera in the 21st Century program at the Banff Centre, St. Andrew's Opera Workshop, Berlin Opera Academy, and Opera NUOVA.
Spencer completed his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance (Distinction) at the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta and a Diploma in Operatic Performance (Répétiteur) at the University of Toronto.
