Christopher Kayler completed his DMA in accompanying and chamber music at the esteemed Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester) under the tutelage of Dr. Jean Barr. An accomplished performer, he was awarded 1st prize and the Ann C. Fehn Memorial award in the 2017 Jessie Kneisel Lieder competition, which was judged by the internationally renowned pianist-scholar Graham Johnson. While at Eastman, he received an Excellence in Accompanying award, and held graduate assistantships in opera coaching, studio accompanying, and as a teacher’s assistant. He has participated in numerous prestigious summer music programs, including the Vancouver International Song Institute, SongFest (Los Angeles), and the Franz Schubert Institut (Baden bei Wien, Austria). His academic awards include Eastman’s Jerald C. Graue Fellowship for excellence in musicology, and the University of Manitoba’s Gold Medal for the highest graduating average in music. His interests include reading, cooking, and exercise, each of which he enjoys with his wife, Heather, as they live in Caron, SK.

Hyon Suk Kim recently moved from South Korea to Regina, and joined the Regina Symphony Orchestra as a Principal clarinetist. Before moving to Canada, she was the principal clarinetist of Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea from 2003-2016. Previous to that, she had many orchestral experiences outside of university. One of the orchestral program was Jeunesse Musical World Orchestra in 1999. She toured through out Asia and Europe with the orchestra. She has also had the opportunity to play with many prestigious conductors, including Matthias Bamert, Franz-Paul Decker, Andrey Boreyko, and Charles Dutoit.

She holds a Licentiate Diploma from McGill University, Certificate from Yale University, and Masters degree from Northwestern University. Her teachers include David Shifrin, Russell Dagon, Daniel Gilbert and Emilio Iacurto.

Hyon Suk Kim showed her talent in early age, and she won first prizes in solo performance in All Japan Music Competition for the Korean Schools. As an active soloist and chamber musician, she has been invited as a soloist and performed concertos with prestigious orchestras including the Kangnam Symphony Orchestra, and the Arco Diabolo Orchestra. Moreover, she has played recitals in US, Japan, and in South Korea. As a chamber music lover, she was a member of Daejeon chamber music society, and is a founder and the leader of the ‘Clarinuts’ Ensemble, a clarinet quintet.

In addition to her performance career, she also dedicated her time in South Korea nurturing young musicians. She taught clarinets and chamber music at Mokwon University, Chungnam University, and Chimsil University, as well as holding many master classes. With her experiences, she also held a workshop called “practice and performance” which is design to help musicians practice efficiently and to held deal with performing under pressure.

Violinist Christian Robinson has an extremely active career as a chamber musician and orchestral leader. Having been awarded the prestigious Felix Galimir Award for Chamber Music during his studies at the University of Toronto, his solo and chamber music activities have seen him perform in feature concerts for many of Canada’s premier festivals and concert presenters. He co-founded the JUNO and Félix-nominated Silver Birch String Quartet, which became one of Canada’s most active young string quartets, with concerts throughout Canada and the United States as well as a residency position at Laurentian University in Sudbury ON. A recipient of numerous grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts, his chamber music performances with the SBSQ and in other configurations have been frequently broadcast nationally on CBC Radio and Radio-Canada. Christian joined the Regina Symphony Orchestra as Principal 2nd Violin in 2016, and was appointed Concertmaster in 2018. Outside of his musical activities, Christian can be found perfecting his ramen recipes, collecting French wine, and especially enjoying time with his wife Julie and son Linden around their neighbourhood in the Cathedral area of Regina.

Principal Cellist of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, Founder and Director of the Prairie Cello Institute, Artistic Director of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto’s Music in the Afternoon concert series, and co-director of Regina Summer Strings, Simon Fryer is an artist of the utmost versatility, at home with the demands of the music of our time and those of historical performance, with the cooperation of ensemble and in the solo spotlight.

Simon’s discography of over 30 recordings includes the solo CD: Music of a life so far… acclaimed as ‘a fascinating collection‘ by the Toronto Star. Of his second release, on Centaur Records, a CD of Victorian Cello Sonatas by Samuel Liddle, Algernon Ashton and Charles Stanford with pianist Leslie De’Ath, Wholenote magazine lauded ‘expansive playing … Fryer’s tone in the lower register is particularly lovely.’ As a member of the Juno-winning Penderecki String Quartet – one of the Canada’s most successful ensembles – Simon performed regularly across Canada and around the world. The PSQ released several discs during this time, including the complete cycle of Bartok’s String Quartets, and worked closely with many of the world’s most innovative contemporary creators from Christos Hatzis to DJ Spooky. Appearances as soloist in Canada with orchestras such as the Regina, Scarborough, Mississauga, and Okanagan Symphonies, and the Esprit Orchestra, as well as the Da Capo Chamber Choir and the Wellington Winds, have been complemented by performances as guest Principal with such as the saskatoon and Hamilton Philharmonics. Previously a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, internationally he has performed with the Orqestra Sinfonica de Tenerife and the UK’s Northern Sinfonia.

Currently on faculty at the University of Regina, Simon has held teaching positions at Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Toronto, and the Glenn Gould School in Canada, as well as at the Casalmaggiore International Festival in Italy. Well-known for his master classes in cello and chamber music, Simon has been a guest of many institutions including the Vivaldi Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Memorial University, the University of Western Ontario, Mount Royal College, Indiana University; the University of Southern California, Paris University 8, and the University of British Columbia.

Simon holds performance diplomas from the Royal Northern College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is active as a chamber musician, orchestral player and soloist in more than thirty countries on six continents. He performs on an instrument completed in 1998 by Masa Inokuchi and when not playing the cello, enjoys nothing more than tinkering with his elderly MG sportscar.