Biography
Recognized as a pianist and teacher, Heather Pineo Regan began her formal musical training at the age of nine in Halifax. It was while studying piano with Margaret Kinsman McCurdy at the Maritime Conservatory of Music that she appeared as a soloist with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra directed by Raffi Armenian. Scholarships and grants from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust enabled her to specialize in piano performance with Gordon Macpherson at Brandon University, where she won the Bachelor of Music gold medal in 1974, and with William Aide at the University of Western Ontario, where she received her Master of Music degree in 1977.
During the years centered around her young family, Heather remained active as a teacher, accompanist and soloist, first in Ottawa and then in Kentville, Nova Scotia where she was affiliated with Acadia University, CentreStage Theatre, and the Kings County Honour Choir.
In the early 1990s, guided by the internationally acclaimed American pianist William Doppmann, she further developed her solo piano playing, thus establishing herself as a recitalist. Her first CD Claude Debussy: Piano Selections was released in 2000 and was followed by a second CD Robert Schumann: Scenes of Childhood, Op. 15 and Fantasy Pieces, Op.12 in 2002.
Heather has performed in numerous recitals, both as soloist and in collaboration with other musicians. In 2002 and again in 2007 she was invited to perform at the Centre Culturel et Sportif de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. Her freelance career has most recently included concerts to launch her newest CD, Frédéric Chopin, which was recorded in 2010, and a third performance in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon in 2011.
Heather has been teaching private piano lessons for over 25 years - in London, Ontario; Ottawa; Kentville; Halifax; and now in Port Williams, Nova Scotia. She has also held contract positions at Acadia University and the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts.
Throughout her professional career Heather has been involved in the life of her community. She has served as President of the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers' Association (NSRMTA) and the Maritime Conservatory Faculty Association and was on the boards of Musique Royale and the Rotary Club of Halifax. Currently she is President of the Valley Chapter NSRMTA and President of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Wolfville.