She is a double bass player born in Edmonton who began her life in music by studying the violin when she was 3 years old. A year later she moved on to the cello and then when she was 6 years old she began to study the double bass with a founder of the Edmonton Public String Enrichment Program who was also her mother, Paddy Brine. She went on to study at the Interlochen Arts Academy and every summer she attended the academy’s National Music Camp. Further studies to earn her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music were taken at the Juilliard School in New York.
She performed as a freelance musician on and off Broadway and toured with a light opera company. She also played with various ensembles and in chamber recitals.
She returned to Canada and became a member of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in 1995, where she holds the position of Acting Assistant Principal Double Bass. She later became a member of the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, where she plays bass in the John Boyd Chair, in 2015.
As a chamber musician she has performed in a chamber music performance with the ESO at the Art Gallery of Alberta and other ensembles she has performed with include The C’Mon Ensemble which premiered Geoff Li’s River Welcomes the Stream at the C’Mon Festival.
In the field of musical education she has been a teacher since studying at college and continues that work in Edmonton.
She is married to the ESO Assistant Principal Clarinet David Quinn, who has also performed as a member of the Edmonton Wind Ensemble.
Sources:
- https://www.winspearcentre.com/more/about/about-eso/meet-the-musicians/strings/janice-quinn/
- https://albertabaroque.com/about-the-society/the-alberta-baroque-ensemble/janice-quinn-bass/
- https://www.youraga.ca/events-features/blog/edmonton-symphony-orchestra-aga
- https://www.geoffli.com/river-welcomes-the-stream
- https://www.winspearcentre.com/more/about/about-eso/meet-the-musicians/woodwind/david-quinn/