Canadian fiddle champ marks 65th album release

Canadian fiddle champion Calvin Vollrath and a squad of special guests return for the fifth annual Spring Fling.

This fast-paced, uplifting three-day extravaganza comes to the Morinville Community Cultural Centre and starts Friday, May 27 with an old-time dinner and dance. A CD release party follows on Saturday, May 28 and closes with a gangbusters style fiddle gala on Sunday afternoon.

Throughout the three-day event, fiddlers will explore numerous great East Coast, Irish, French Canadian, MĂ©tis, East European and possibly a few American fiddling styles and influences.

Vollrath’s special guests are The Next Generation Leahy, the young children of Jennifer and Doug Leahy. He is a member of the renowned Canadian folk music group Leahy, a Canadian powerhouse of eight brothers and sisters that played together their whole lives.

The Next Generation Leahys, all still in elementary school, are also accomplished multi-instrumentalists equally passionate about music. Their high-energy, infectious Celtic-based music is what people associate with the Leahy heritage.

“They’re six kids. They’re fabulous. They could be the most amazing family you’ve ever seen,” said Vollrath.

The Leahys will perform an eclectic act at the Saturday CD release party and the Sunday fiddle gala. They play fiddle, cello, French accordion, piano, sing and step dance.

This past year Vollrath had an unprecedented burst of creativity and recorded three albums: A Fiddle of This, A Fiddle of That; Fiddle Lickin’ Good, and TGIF. His album count now sits at 65.

“I had a very busy year last year. I travelled from California to Cape Breton and I got to hear other styles of music. I was so inspired I started writing a bunch of tunes. By Dec. 2015 I had 45 melodies,” said Vollrath.

Each CD has its own theme. TGIF is composed from Ontario fiddling styles. A Fiddle of This, A Fiddle of That is full of waltzes, jigs and reels and Fiddle Lickin’ Good leans towards a variety of styles.

Last year when Natalie McMaster and husband Donnell Leahy were special guests, Vollrath started a tradition of hosting a Saturday jam for ticket holders only prior to the CD release party. He plans to continue the two-hour event.

“It was full. We had about 70 musicians. Everybody sits in a circle. The host would invite people to come up and as they played everyone joined in. It really makes it personal.”

At the Sunday fiddle gala, six virtuosos from across the country join Vollrath and step it up with trick fiddling. The fiddlers are: Byron Myhre (Sherwood Park), Alex Kusturak (Winnipeg), Daniel Koulac (Winnipeg), Randy Foster (Ottawa), Brianna Lizotte (Red Deer) and Hardy Kryvenchuk (Athabasca).

“This is good clean entertainment. If you play the fiddle, you will like the music. If you like rhythm, you’ll like the show.”

For more information visit calvinvollrath.com.