PREVIEW
Calvin Vollrath
Thursday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m.
St. Albert Community Hall
17 Perron St.
Tickets: $15 Call 780-459-1542 or at http://www.ticketmaster.ca
One of the hardest working musicians in the Canadian music industry, fiddle champ Calvin Vollrath has independently recorded and released an eye-popping 65 albums of original music.
Although he's performed across North America for well over 45 years, Vollrath shows no signs of slowing down. The Morinville-raised, world-renowned fiddler returns to his stomping grounds for an afternoon performance at St. Albert Community Hall on Thursday, Jan. 11.
"I used to play at St. Albert Community Hall in the 1970s. That's where I started my career – at all the surrounding community halls – St. Albert, Barrhead, Alcomdale, Mearns," said Vollrath, a two-time Grand North American Fiddle Champion and inductee into the North American Fiddlers' Hall of Fame.
Despite his renowned stature, he never forgot his roots. The legendary fiddler used his contacts to host the 2016 Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championships in Morinville Community Cultural Centre. It was the first time the event was held in a western Canadian province.
Accompanying Vollrath at the upcoming concert is Jeremy Rusu, one of Canada's most versatile musicians having mastered 15 instruments.
"Jeremy is 100 per cent blind, but he's an amazing person. He runs his own studio. He plays in rock 'n roll bands. He plays in old-tyme bands. He plays jazz and bluegrass. He does everything. He plays clarinet, accordion, piano and drums. He's recorded on my last albums and I can't say enough about him."
The two musicians are structuring the future concert similar to a western kitchen party.
"We're going to get personal and get the crowd involved. Even though we'll have a set list, we'll be winging it too. With Jeremy I can play anything. If someone asks for Frank Sinatra and we know it, we'll play it."
Interestingly, although Vollrath has been a prolific recording artist releasing anywhere from one to three albums of original music annually, it's taken a back seat in the last year. Instead he's focused his energies recording online fiddle lessons.
Dubbed 2'sday 2'unes (pronounced Tuesday Tunes), Vollrath provides students with originals, sheet music and video lessons corresponding with the sheet music.
"They get a closeup of the video and the fingering hand. Everything is digitally slowed down by 50 per cent. And the video includes tips on making less squeaks and squawks. This is good for seniors and people all over the world who want to get into fiddling at their own pace."
Providing online lessons is simply an extension of the teaching camps Vollrath has promoted for decades.
"You always have to keep reinventing yourself and these lessons via the internet are affordable for all."
"But I'm really looking forward to coming back to St. Albert with Jeremy. It's going to be a great afternoon of music and friendship."
