Kyle Burghout, award-winning fiddler

Kyle Burghout, now based in Winnipeg, MB, has established himself as one of Canada’s premier fiddlers, as a performer, composer, and educator. He has performed across Canada, as well as internationally in the USA, Ireland, Italy, Austria, and Hungary. His many awards include North American Irish Fiddle Champion, Grand North American Old-Time Fiddle Champion, and seven-time finalist at the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition. To date, he has composed more than 60 fiddle tunes, as well as larger works for solo, chamber, and orchestral ensembles. He has released three studio albums and a book of original tunes.

Kyle grew up in Ottawa, ON, and was enrolled in classical violin lessons at the age of five. Since the word “violin” was not yet in his vocabulary, he told everyone he was learning to play the fiddle. At home, he constantly listened to traditional fiddle music, trying to teach himself how to play just like Natalie MacMaster, and soon enough he began taking weekly fiddle lessons alongside classical violin lessons. Kyle continued to play both classical violin and traditional fiddle all throughout high school and university, while also learning to play viola and piano. His main fiddle teachers were Trish Barclay, Matt Pepin, Denis Lanctôt, and Patrick Ourceau. In 2015, Kyle graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Music degree, specializing in Violin Performance and Composition.

Kyle played regularly with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2016, and was Artistic Director of Fiddleheads in Chelsea, QC from 2015 to 2019. In 2018, Kyle, together with James Stephens and Fiddleheads, founded the Gatineau Hills Fiddle Festival, which is now an annual event taking place every October that includes four days of concerts, workshops, dancing, and jamming. In 2019, Kyle moved to Winnipeg, MB, and regularly performs and tours with his partner Jane Cory in their duo project, Jane & Kyle. He can also be seen performing with various other groups, including his Irish trio with Justin Thériault & Susan Toman, and is in-demand as a dance musician for step dancers. He continues to teach fiddle lessons both in-person and online to students all across Canada, as well as at various fiddle camps as a guest instructor.

Can perform either acoustically or amplified. For smaller spaces, Kyle can provide an amp, as well as mics and cables for musicians. In larger spaces, the client must provide the PA system.