Helen Pridmore is a singer and a sound artist, focused on contemporary scored music, experimental music and improvisation. With a voice described as ""acrobatic, finely-tuned and characterful"" (UK composer Michael Finnissy), and with an “impressively extended technical and stylistic range” (The Whole Note), she loves to explore new sounds and try vocal experiments. Helen has performed across Canada and the US, including a solo appearance at Carnegie Hall, as well as in Europe, Mexico and Japan. She’s worked with a wonderful array of artists, ranging from purely classical to extremely experimental. Helen can be heard on a number of recordings, including “…between the shore and the ships” (Canadian Music Centre release), which won an East Coast Music Award in 2013.

Helen also writes music, for herself and others. In her current home of Saskatoon (Treaty 6 Territory) she leads several community music groups and continues her performing career, presenting both composed and improvised works for voice and occasionally piano as well. For more information, see www.helenpridmore.ca.

Shannon Holmes is an actor, singer, theatre-maker, educator and scholar. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Theatre Department at the University of Regina. Her artistic practice spans the disciplines of music and theatre, with voice as the primary medium.

As a classically trained singer with an extensive background in theatre, she seeks pathways in which her art can thrive within the liminal spaces between spoken and sung expression.

Shannon holds a BFA in Theatre and Music from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard College USA, and a PhD in Drama and Theatre Arts from the University of Birmingham, UK. 

Trained in a broad range of voice, acting and dance methods, she has appeared in Opera, Musical Theatre, Shakespeare, Contemporary Theatre and Devised projects. She has been invited to perform, present her research, and teach across Canada, the US, the UK and Europe. 

The Crook of Your Arm was first produced in Montréal in 2015, before appearing as part of the Frigid Festival in New York. The last iteration was on the Royal Shakespeare Company's studio stage, The Other Place, in Stratford-upon-Avon, U.K. in 2016.  The show grew out of a research project investigating how autobiographical performance practices can be merged with classical voice technique to engender greater freedom in vocal expression. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to continue exploring and expanding this project with a new and exciting team here in Regina. She dedicates this run to her late Mum, Norma Mae Holmes. 

www.shannonholmes.ca

Principal Cellist of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, Founder and Director of the Prairie Cello Institute, Director of Regina Summer Strings, and Artistic Director of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto’s Music in the Afternoon concert series, 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 music-making 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 latest 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, 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 Hamilton Philharmonic. Previously a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, internationally he has performed with the Orqestra Sinfonica de Tenerife and the UK’s Northern Sinfonia.

Well-known for his master classes in cello and chamber music, Simon has been guest faculty at many institutions including the University of Western Ontario, Brandon University, the Desautels School of Music at the University of Manitoba, Mount Royal College, The Banff Centre, Memorial University, the University of British Columbia, Oberlin Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Indiana University; the University of Southern California, and Paris University 8. Simon has held faculty 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.

Simon holds performance accredition from the Royal Northern College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has been 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.

Visit www.simonfryer.com for more information.

Johanna Bundon is an independent artist whose practice includes dance and theatre performance, choreography, teaching & gathering. She has made robust contributions to the development of new work & creation processes in Saskatchewan in both dance & theatre over the past 15 years. Her capacity to embody ideas, and to create a generative space for new work to thrive, has made her a sought after collaborator by artists across disciplines.

www.johannabundon.com