When Kierah isn't busy updating her book, writing fiddle tunes, producing albums, and touring all over Canada and abroad, she is busy just being a teenager.
Perhaps she is in such high demand as a school performer because in some ways she is still one of the kids, only 19 years old, but out in the mainstream music industry she is already known as an established star in her field.
The young fiddle sensation has gone to the places where fiddle isn't just an instrument, fiddle is a root of the culture, learning and performing in places like Ireland, Cape Breton, and putting the effort into classical training back in her Lower Mainland home. She was concertmaster of the Semiahmoo Strings Youth Orchestra conducted by Carla Birston and scored almost a perfect mark - the highest mark in Canada that year - on her Royal Conservatory exam, performing Bach's challenging Chaconne.
Instead of a path towards symphonies and chamber ensembles, however, her love is deep and steeped in a different tradition. She is, as her latest album is entitled, a stonemason's daughter, so her musical foundation is built on solid Celtic rock.
"I was 11 when I produced my first album. It was 2008, I called it Irish Madness, with (Juno Award winner) Andy Hillhouse on guitar. That one is 11 tracks with nine of them original. It was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award, which felt pretty amazing," she said. (Celebrated pianist Troy MacGillivray also accompanied on that disc.)
At about the same time she was collecting songs together for her first album, her family suggested she bundle them all into a book as well. No other fiddler they knew of in Western Canada had published their compositions in book form, and her songwriting was starting to pile up.
She continued to work at creating her own material through the release of album number two, A Fiddle Affair, until she had enough she felt confident would be worthy of wrapping in covers.
"I started writing tunes when I was 10. I remember making up a waltz one day, then a couple of jigs, then it got rolling for me," she said. "Once you get about 40 tunes, you can make a book out of that. I was about 14 when the first edition was released. But I'm up to 66 now that I'm at the third edition."
A Fiddle Affair also picked up a nomination in the Young Performer Of The Year category at the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Awards, and in addition it was the winner that year in the Best Jigs And Reels category at the Celtic Music Radio Awards. Her stuff was already in heavy rotation on Galaxy Radio's Celtic channel, which, through the magic of satellite broadcasting, got to the ears of the judges.
The one thing an eager young mind does better than anything is learn. Each album and book and performance tour was like graduating another grade. And ask any kid: school isn't always fun.
"Ooh, yeah...lessons," she said heavily, meaning more than just the rehearsal kind. "The first album was good but I was 11. The next album we added instruments, but we had a short time limit to record and we chose the wrong studio at first so the initial tracks weren't recorded properly. But we found Joby Baker (the Victoria-based producer behind hit albums by Mae Moore, Rachelle Van Zanten, Alex Cuba Band and many others) and he made it into something beautiful. He knows what he's doing. So the lesson I got from that was to record the next one at Joby Baker's studio, we did that, and the sound is pristine. We used Adrian Dolan (award winning performer with The Bills and Ruth Moody's band) as the producer for that."
One of the musicians called in to help fill the sound out during the Stonemason's Daughter sessions was Prince George fiddle/horn superstar Daniel Lapp, whom she considers one of the fiddle legends of Canada. She also admires him for his vast and constantly expanding archive of B.C.-written fiddle tunes. She has hopes for a fiddle book from him, one day, too.
Despite the setbacks along the way, Kerah insisted she wouldn't change things if she had the chance. The gains far outweigh the losses, she said.
"I hear things I'd want to fix if I had the chance, but the award shows that we did something right, and you discover the level of work required to make an album, which is huge and difficult and takes a lot of time and energy and investment."
Award? Yes, that Canadian Folk Music trophy is finally hers. She won it upon the release of The Stonemason's Daughter.
Other than on stereos and radios, Prince George hasn't had a chance to hear it, so Kierah is coming this weekend to personally present the most recent album and her whole body of work - a remarkably comprehensive package for one so young.
Coming along with Kierah for this first-time appearance in P.G. will be Dolan adding his instrumental skills, along with Adam Dobres (Ruth Moody's band, Ridley Bent, Toni Childs, etc.). With just the three of them "we really get to shine" as musicians, she said. Come into the Celtic light on Sunday night at the PG Playhouse. Tickets are available at the door while supplies last, or in advance at Books and Company.
