Biography

Regina Rancourt is a 2023 graduate of Xavier University from Indiana. Growing up in a musical family, her first interests in studying music came from observing her older sisters’ piano lessons at home, attending the annual Christmas concert at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and seeing the Butler Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker with her grandmother. Some of Rancourt’s fondest memories growing up were taking piano lessons, playing clarinet in band, singing in choir, and participating in school musicals with friends. Her participation in church choir also fueled her love of languages—often singing hymns in Latin, Spanish, Haitian Creole and French. By age fifteen, she was selected to sing sacred motets and compositions both at school and at church—pieces like Crucifixus by Antonio Lotti, Ave Maria by Franz Biebl, Sicut Cervus by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Ave Verum Corpus by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Miserere Mei, Deus by Gregorio Allegri, where she would participate in the soli chorus as a soprano. These opportunities as well as her desire to create and explore music further led to writing her own compositions—a passion that would lead her to pursue music in college and as a career. 

At Xavier University, Rancourt studied with Polina Bespalko, renowned teacher and performer, who would broaden her understanding of the color, texture, tone and storytelling in music performance. Rancourt graduated with a Major in Music Performance, with Piano Concentration, and a Minor in Psychology. Besides piano, Rancourt also studied composition (with Kaleel Skeirik and Eric Knechtges), conducting, voice (with Mike Young and Ellen Graham) and harpsichord (with Michael Delfín), receiving numerous scholarships for her musical leadership like the Three Arts Scholarship, Girls Who Conduct Fellowship, West Hills Music Club Scholarship, Dr. Helmut J Roehrig Scholarship and the Xavier University Performing Arts Scholarship. In Spring of 2022, she was selected as a Brueggeman Fellow for the 2022-2023 academic year to conduct an independent research project on Women Composers of Keyboard Works in 18th Century Austria, travelling to Austria to complete her research.

After graduating in 2023, Rancourt continued to work as a Soprano Section Leader at St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel on Xavier University’s campus before being promoted to the position of Assistant Director of Music a few months later. Since May of 2023, Rancourt has taught piano and voice lessons, worked as a freelance performer and participated in numerous ensembles around the city of Cincinnati including the May Festival Chorus, May Festival Chamber Choir and Ensemble Con Fuoco. She currently holds the position of Director of Music at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Crescent Springs, KY.