By Kevin J Sabo for the Advance
After spending much of his life living out of a suitcase, home-grown Coronation talent Jaron Rovensky has returned to his roots.
Over the years Rovensky has traveled the world, losing track of how many countries he’s actually been to, let alone performed in. He’s rubbed shoulders with music greats such as English singer-songwriter Adele, Tom Waits and Grammy winner Norah Jones. Rovensky has recorded music in Calgary, Paris, Zurich and Los Angeles.
On Feb. 22 he was back in Coronation performing to a sold-out hometown crowd of over 250 people, the final concert of Coronation Performing Arts five-concert series for the 2018/2019 season. Rovensky wasn’t alone on stage during the concert. Award winning guitar and banjo picker Jake Peters played a few songs with Rovensky, as well as Coronation Grade 10 students Summer Sanders and Lauren Perry on ukulele and retired Coronation school music teacher Dan Kinakin on guitar.
“The show was supposed to end around 9:30, but I kept going,” said Rovensky in an interview. “It was a good night.”
Rovensky recently moved back to East Central Alberta, a place he has visited regularly over the years but has not called home since he was 18-years-old.
He’s lived in India, the Caribbean, the United States and all over Europe since he left Coronation, learning a lot in the process.
“I learned different ways of thinking. My values were challenged, my world view was challenged, said Rovensky, adding the biggest thing he’s learned — “We’re all the same. We’re all eating, and sleeping, and being human. It’s all the same thing but slightly different.”
After spending his adult life living the life of a musician on the road around the world, it was time to come home.
“About a year and a half ago I lost my grandparents and my father, and I was in Switzerland; and it didn’t really make any sense to be over there anymore, and to be so far from my family,” said Rovensky. “It was time to return to my roots.”
Since returning home, he has begun reconnecting with friends and family. One such connection is Elizabeth Maryanne Spady, a childhood friend and competitor in music competitions in their youth, whom he married in Oct. 2018.
“We grew up paying piano together, we had the same teacher, and we competed in music festival,” Rovensky said. “We kept tabs on one another throughout life, and we reconnected when I came back to Canada.”
Since he’s been home, he’s been enjoying the family life, becoming a step-dad to Spady’s five-year-old son and building new personal and musical connections in Alberta.
“I lived out of Alberta so I have to network, I have to build connections,” Said Rovensky. “I’ll return to Switzerland and play over in Europe here and there. It’ll be flying back and forth a few months there, then a few months working on things here.”
When asked about his passion for music Rovensky gave a very down to earth answer.
“I fell into it. I didn’t necessarily choose it. People paid me and wanted to hear me,” said Rovensky. “It just kind of happened.”
If the extended high-energy show Rovensky played for Coronation Performing Arts and their 250 person crowd is any indication, people still have an appetite for his music.
