Darke Hall is a 610 seat performance hall located in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

, Canada. The hall was named for

Francis Nicholson Darke Francis Nicholson Darke (October 25, 1863 – July 17, 1940) was a leading citizen of Regina, Saskatchewan and served as Mayor of Regina, Member of Parliament and as a prominent businessman. He was born near Charlottetown, Prince Edward Isl ...

, the former mayor of Regina. Designed by architect J.H. Puntin, the hall was built in 1928 and had its inaugural concert opening on 6 January 1929. While the hall currently serves as the main performance venue for the Conservatory of Music at the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchew ...

, for many years the venue was the city of Regina's main concert hall and the home of the

Regina Symphony Orchestra The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) was founded by Frank Laubach, in Regina, Saskatchewan, as the ''Regina Orchestral Society'' in 1908, giving its inaugural concert December 3 of that same year. Becoming the ''Regina Choral and Orchestral Societ ...

. That changed after the

Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts The Conexus Arts Centre, known from 1970 till 2006 (and still largely known) as the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts, is a theatre complex located within Wascana Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, which largely replaces former theatres down ...

opened in 1970. Many notable entertainers have performed at Darke Hall, including

Barra MacNeils The Barra MacNeils are a Canadian musical group from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. The founding members of the group are siblings Sheumas, Kyle, Stewart, and Lucy MacNeil.Bowman, Durrell.Barra MacNeils, The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved Januar ...

Jorge Bolet Jorge Bolet (November 15, 1914October 16, 1990) was a Cuban-born American virtuoso pianist and teacher. Among his teachers were Leopold Godowsky, and Moriz Rosenthal – the latter an outstanding pupil of Franz Liszt. Life Bolet was born in Havan ...

Jane Coop Jane Austin Coop (born 18 April 1950 in Saint John, New Brunswick) is a Canadian pianist and music pedagogue. An internationally recognized concert pianist, she has appeared as a recitalist and as a soloist with major symphony orchestras throug ...

Denise Djokic Denise Djokic (born 13 November 1980) is a cellist from Halifax, Nova Scotia. ''The Strad'' magazine has called her instantly recognizable for her "arrestingly beautiful tone colour". Career Djokic is a native of Halifax. She grew up in a large mu ...

Marjorie Lawrence Marjorie Florence Lawrence CBE (17 February 190713 January 1979) was an Australian soprano, particularly noted as an interpreter of Richard Wagner's operas. She was the first Metropolitan Opera soprano to perform the immolation scene in ''Göt ...

Nino Martini Nino Martini (7 August 1902 — 9 December 1976) was an Italian operatic tenor and actor. He began his career as an opera singer in Italy before moving to the United States to pursue an acting career in films. He appeared in several Hollyw ...

Nan Merriman Katherine Ann Merriman (April 28, 1920 – July 22, 2012) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. Biography A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she performed with her pianist brother, J. Vick O'Brien (later president of the Pittsburgh Nation ...

Jan Peerce Jan Peerce (born Yehoshua Pinkhes Perelmuth; June 3, 1904 December 15, 1984) was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway theatre, Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recordi ...

Sarah Slean Sarah Hope Slean (born June 21, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, composer and musician. She has released eleven albums to date (including EPs and live albums). She is also a poet, visual artist, and occasional actress. Career Major recordi ...

Teresa Stratas Teresa Stratas (born May 26, 1938) is a retired operatic soprano from Canada of Greek descent. She is especially well known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's ''Lulu''. Early life and career Stratas was born Anastasia Stratakis to ...

Jean Watson Jean Watson is an American nurse theorist and nursing professor who is best known for her theory of human caring. She is the author of numerous texts, including ''Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring''. Watson's research on caring has been ...

Hawksley Workman Hawksley Workman (Born Ryan Corrigan, March 4, 1975) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has garnered critical acclaim for his blend of cabaret pop and glam rock. Workman has released eleven full-length albums throughout his career. A mul ...

, and

Efrem Zimbalist Efrem Zimbalist Sr. ( – February 22, 1985) was a concert violinist, composer, conductor and director of the Curtis Institute of Music. Early life Efrem Zimbalist Sr. was born on April 9, 1888, O. S., equivalent to April 21, 1889, in the Greg ...

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Regina, Saskatchewan Theatres in Saskatchewan Music venues in Saskatchewan