Spotlight on Toby Heller

It was late one Saturday night at the Eagle's club in Flat Rock, Michigan, when I had the chance to hear legendary bluegrass fiddle great, Bobby Hicks and his band, Hazel Creek. It's been years since I heard him last and the man has got to be one of the sweetest sounding fiddlers around. It was a delight to sit and listen. However, I was totally surprised when in the second set a young man was brought up to the stage with his own fiddle and invited to play with Mr. Hicks! I knew this was something that happened at various shows and generally speaking, the young person would be nervous and would do their best with stage fright and fumbling fingers, though this was not the case.

Toby Heller, age 12, from Ortonville, Michigan, was that young fiddler brought up to play. If he was nervous, he didn't show it. He played "Old Joe Clark" with Mr. Hicks like a seasoned pro. The house was enthralled. His timing and intonation was exceptional. This young man has quite a career before him if he sticks with it! After the show, Toby was given a DVD of Bobby Hick's new teaching program and everyone was all smiles. He certainly made a few new friends and admirers that evening. And, I believe a few bands were considering keeping their eye on him for the future!

His proud mother, Margaret Heller, was more than happy to tell us all about her boy and his musical accomplishments. Toby has been playing the violin for 7 years now, and has taken lessons from Hardy Keifer from Germany and Neil Woodward, who teaches at Elderly Instruments in Lansing. He enjoys playing at downtown Ortonville's Friendly Folk Jammin' Fridays jam session in the evening. His brother, Lukas, joins in on the guitar. It's clear to see that Toby Heller is a talent to keep an eye on and encourage!