Vollrath returns to roots

Canada’s fiddling sensation Calvin Vollrath moved to a farm one mile east of Cardiff in 1975 and attended Paul Kane High for two years before transferring to the newly built Sturgeon Composite for Grade 12.

Largely a self-taught fiddler, Vollrath cut his teeth playing all the local communities from St. Albert, Morinville and Legal to Bon Accord, Alcomdale and Mearns.

A musical prodigy with 56 albums to his name, Vollrath was tapped to compose fiddle music for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

“It was such an honour to get the call,” says Vollrath.

And on July 11, 2011 in a ceremony filled with laughter and tears, he was inducted into the North American Fiddlers Hall of Fame in New York.

Busy with a thriving career that’s spirited him from Vancouver to Los Angeles to Nashville, the long-time St. Paul resident hasn’t visited his Morinville roots since his mother passed away in 1996.

However, this weekend from April 20 to 22, Vollrath returns home for three high-energy concerts and dances at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre.

“It would be nice to see people I knew back then – if they still live there,” he adds.

The weekend blasts off Friday night at 7:30 p.m. with an Old Time Dinner and Dance with music by Country Swing featuring Vollrath (fiddle), Trent Brunen (piano), Ray St. Germaine (guitar), Daryl Campbell (steel guitar), Ron ‘Oz’ Danyluk, (drums) and Les Vincent (bass).

“It’ll be like a big old country swing band. We’ll show you some old-time western hospitality. Back in the ’60s and ’70s you could go to any hall and it would be packed. A lot of places today you see a DJ. It’s good for a family to see live music and you could learn to dance the butterfly and square dance.”

Following on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. is the rootsy fiddler’s annual CD release party. This year the champion fiddler has not one, but two 15-track CDs – The Homecoming, written for this special occasion and Spring Creek.

“I wrote The Homecoming cause I’m coming back where it all started. And Spring Creek’s tunes are more in bluegrass style.”

Adding some lush textures to the CD release party is the seven-piece Calvin Vollrath Orchestra that includes three Canadian Grandmaster Fiddle Champions – Daniel Gervais, Patti Lamoureux and Mark Sullivan.

“It will be just like the string section of an orchestra. They will have their parts and lines.”

Also invited to the Saturday party are Brunen, Vincent, Edmonton’s Clint Pelletier and Winnipeg musician Jeremy Rusu.

“Jeremy is a musical genius. He plays guitar, piano, mandolin, accordion and clarinet.”

Vollrath concludes the three-day extravaganza with a 2 p.m. concert Sunday featuring guest fiddlers from across Canada showcasing their individual fiddling style.

“This weekend is going to be good clean fun. I’ve had lots of people come up after the show and say it was so inspiring. Music is emotional when it comes from the heart and I believe all kids and families should be exposed to music.”