A love of performing and excitement is a key ingredient in each Next Generation Leahy performance.
“We want the kids to play music that they like, instruments that they like so that they’re excited about it,” explained Doug Leahy. “I think that’s the big thing that people really, really notice in our show … they’ll come up to us after and say, ‘do they really love it as much as it seems like?’ and it’s like, ‘yeah they do.’”
The family-composed Next Generation Leahy consists of father and mother pair Doug and Jennifer and their children Adele, 13; Gregory, 12; Angus, 10; Cecilia, 8; Joseph, 7; and Evelyn, 5.
The family began performing its Celtic-based music and step dancing show about a year and a half ago and Doug said he and Jennifer have tried to instill a sense of giving back to the community in their children.
“We’ve been given so much in the health of our children, the talents that they’ve been given and we often say that it’s our responsibility to give that back in a positive way to help others,” Doug explained.
His family also had a band while he was growing up called Leahy and when he was performing with them they always did charity work and fundraising, and Doug decided to bring the same practice into Next Generation Leahy.
This year the group performed a Christmas concert at the Elora Community and District Centre hall on Dec. 16 and a portion of the proceeds will be going towards the new Groves hospital project.
“I’ve had the opportunity to travel to a lot of different countries and a see a lot of different things, and you can complain as much as you want about our government or our healthcare system or whatever, but when you go away from it and look back you realize how amazing this country is,” Doug said. “We come from a small community and we know the struggles … so that’s part of education too and it’s part of living, it’s part of being Canadian, it’s to give not just to always receive … and especially at Christmas time.”
The Groves Hospital Foundation was also happy to have the group perform.
“It’s really exciting to have this opportunity to welcome the (Next Generation Leahy) to Elora with the proceeds going towards the hospital,” said foundation executive director Lori Arsenault. “Really it’s providing some funds for the hospital but also more importantly creating an awareness in the community about the new Groves hospital project and about where we are in our campaign.”
Music has always been a part of the Leahy children’s lives, Doug explained.
“They have a lot of cousins involved in music and it’s something that the kids want to do, we have kids that would rather turn on music and dance than ever turn on TV, literally,” Doug said. “They just love music.”
The second youngest sibling, not yet performing, is Douglas who is almost two years old and already showing his musical roots.
“When we’re rehearsing or when the kids are practicing he goes and stands beside them and tries to imitate them,” Doug said. “He’s dancing around, he pretends he plays guitar, he pretends he plays the fiddle, like he wants to do it and he has the biggest smile on his face and if you clap for him his eyes light up and he’s just so excited so … that’s how it kind of started with all of them.”
Each of the Leahy children learned to play fiddle and piano and started step dancing when they were three or four years old.
“At a young age that’s when they’re able to learn the easiest and the formation of their technique and that is easier now than when you learn when you’re older,” Doug said. It’s easier to develop the muscles and tendons required to be a musician at a young age.
The family plays by ear, although they do also know how to read music.
“When you learn by ear, basically what you’re doing is you’re getting a melody in your head and what you’re basically learning how to do is how to translate that into your hands,” he said. It fosters individuality and allows the musician’s personality to come through on stage.
“I often say that if I (asked) someone … to tell me the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, if they read that story out of a book, it would be almost identical but there’d be emphasis on certain words or phrases a little bit but if I didn’t give you a book and told you to tell me the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer it would be the same story but the emphasis and the colour that people would put in it would be their own, it would be so different from each other,” he said. “When we play by ear they’re able to adapt very quickly when they hear something that they like. As long as they have it in their head they can pretty much play it because they’ve learned how to translate it quickly.”
Doug also said he looks for signs in each of his children that indicate what instruments they would like to learn. He said his oldest daughter, Adele, watched a musician play the cello and for months following the encounter would turn her fiddle sideways and play it like a cello, even though the bowing was backwards. Shortly after she was receiving cello lessons. He said Gregory plays the French accordion and Angus plays the guitar.
“They get inspired by seeing someone else and so when we see that they have an interest in something then we find an instrument and we try to find really good teachers that are skilled at teaching according to their level,” Doug said.
By playing different instruments and having their own skillset, Doug said each of his children can stand out in the act without competing with one another.
“If everyone just plays the fiddle and plays the piano and dances, they’re going to eventually compare themselves to each other … but when they each have their own thing they get to stand up and be proud and have confidence in that thing, especially when they enjoy it and they each then get their moment to be the captain, to be the soloist,” Doug said.
However, the family doesn’t play music and dance all day every day. Jennifer homeschools the children so they are free to tour when necessary and they can incorporate music into their school day.
“The younger kids they get their work done so early, it’s amazing how much they can do in a day,” Doug said. “So they get their music and schooling and everything done basically in a school day and they have their nights for Sports and for friends and sleepovers and all that stuff, whatever it is, so it works for us.”
And to provide balance, the children have chores when they’re at home. The family lives on a farm in Lakefield and each of the kids has responsibilities.
“There’s no roadies on the farm,” he said. “It’s get your work done.”
Next Generation Leahy has recently released its self-titled first CD.
“We wanted to capture the children at their young age,” Doug said.
Even though Doug doesn’t write music himself, he said his kids frequently write music, some of which is in the show and they’ve also come up with many of the arrangements.
While Doug and Jennifer perform with their children now, it won’t be long until they step back completely.
“This is not about us, this is about the kids, we’re kind of helping them right now,” he said. “We’re kind of assisting them and as much as we can we stay in the back and it’s not going to be too long before we’re not up there at all and that is great.”
