On March 21st at 3 pm, the RMC will be hosting an online, live streamed celebration of Bach’s life and music. Please click this link to attend:

The performance is free to attend, but your donations to help cover the RMC’s costs in presenting events like this are greatly appreciated.

The concert will include solo and chamber music performances by six outstanding Regina musicians: Valerie Hall (organ), Tamsin Johnston (oboe), David Dick (trombone), Heng-Han Hou (violin), Christopher Jones (bass) and Anna Norris (bassoon). 

Anna Norris is the principal bassoonist of the Regina Symphony Orchestra. Music has taken her all around Canada: as well as studying at McGill University under Stephane Levesque and Martin Mangrum, she was privileged to attend three summer sessions on tour around the country with the National Youth Orchestra. While still studying at McGill, she won the Principal Bassoon position with the Niagara Symphony in St. Catharines, Ontario; upon graduating, she headed north for a leave replacement contract with the Thunder Bay Symphony. She has played as a freelancer with numerous ensembles including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and Windsor Symphony Orchestra, and in 2018 was the soloist in John Williams’ bassoon concerto, The Five Sacred Trees, with the Niagara Symphony. In her spare time she enjoys gymnastics, calculus, and looking at pictures of rabbits.

Hailing from Taiwan, violinist Heng-Han Hou has firmly established himself in the music scene in both Regina and Toronto with his musicality and sensitivity. Heng-Han appears regularly as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. He recently played Lou Harrison’s Concerto in Slendro with the University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble. He performed chamber concerts at the Toronto Summer Music and the Lake George Music Festival. Heng-Han joined the Regina Symphony Orchestra and the Regina Symphony Chamber Players as the Principal Second Violin in September 2020. In addition, Heng-Han is an active pedagogue and a piano accompanist. He holds teaching assistant positions at the University of Toronto, where he is currently a doctoral candidate under the tutelage of Prof. Jonathan Crow.

Toronto native Christopher Jones is the Principal Bass of the Regina Symphony Orchestra and the Regina Symphony Chamber Players. Prior to joining the RSO in 2018, Christopher completed his Bachelor of Music Degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He was a three time recipient of the Theodore H. Barth Foundation Scholarship, and graduated with the Homer Mensch Award for Outstanding Performance in Double Bass. Music has allowed Christopher to travel the world: as a student, he was privileged to attend summer session tours across Canada and Europe with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada that included performances in Berlin, Edinburgh, Kassel, Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto. He has also spent summers at the Domaine Forget String Academy and the Orford Music Academy. In 2019, Christopher performed the Canadian premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s new concerto for double bass “Dark With Excessive Bright” with the Regina Symphony Orchestra. Christopher is the Double Bass Instructor at the University of Regina and has taught masterclasses at the University of Saskatchewan. When he is not playing the bass, Christopher can usually be found going for long walks, riding his bike, snuggling his cat, or spending time with his friends at the beach.

Nationally known as an organist, harpsichordist, educator, mentor and church musician, Valerie Hall has given solo recitals across Canada, in the United States and Europe. A native of Winnipeg, she obtained a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from the University of Manitoba and a Master of Church Music from Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois. Valerie also completed an Associateship in Voice Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and serves on both the voice and keyboard faculties of the Conservatory of Performing Arts, University of Regina. A continuo player on organ and harpsichord, Valerie has performed under the batons of Bramwell Tovey, Ivars Taurins, Rosemary Thomson, Dale Barltrop, Victor Sawa and Gordon Gerrard. She regularly appears as guest harpsichordist with the Regina Symphony Chamber Players.

Dr. David Dick is the Principal Trombone of the Regina Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Professor in the Department of Music at the University of Regina, where he is serves as Department Head, directs the jazz ensemble, teaches music theory and brass classes, and trombone studio classes for the university and the conservatory. His previous teaching appointments have included University of Memphis, Jackson State University, Belhaven University, and Briercrest College. Previous to his current position, he was the Principal Trombone player of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Dick is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator, working with bands, jazz bands and soloists at regional and provincial music festivals, in addition to performing recitals and giving masterclasses. He continues to perform in a wide variety of settings including orchestras, chamber groups, early music ensembles, jazz ensembles, and blues bands. Dr. Dick earned degrees from the University of Memphis (DMA), McGill University (MMus), and the University of Regina (BMus). His teachers have included Richard Raum, Alastair Kay, James Box, John Mueller, Michael Powell, John Rojak, and Alain Trudel. David Dick is an Edwards Instrument Company Artist.

Originally from Ottawa, Tamsin Lorraine Johnston has served as Principal Oboe of the Regina Symphony Orchestra since 2013. Completing her education at the University of Toronto, Boston University, and The Boston Conservatory, Ms. Johnston has performed with ensembles throughout Canada and the United States, including the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, and was a member of Blythwood Winds, a Toronto-based Wind Quintet. Ms. Johnston also had the privilege of spending several summers with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the Scotia Festival of Music, and L’Orchestre de la Francophonie. In her free time, Ms. Johnston enjoys yoga, cycling, cross-country skiing, and is a lover of books and local craft beer.