Roger Hewett returns ‘home’ to Leamington after 19-year Corteo run

Although he was born and raised in Great Britain and spent much of his adult life in Montreal, Leamington resident Roger Hewett’s decision to settle in Leamington is one he does not regret.

The talented world-traveller and his wife Kari Lynn both came from far away and have spent the past several years in this community.

For Roger, his time spent on the road as a professional musician has taken him away from his new-found home, but has provided him with a good living and world experiences he may not have otherwise had.

But like all good things, his time on the road has now come to an end.

Roger has been the musical director and bandleader for Cirque du Soleil’s production of Corteo since 2005.

He spent last week in Beaumont, Texas, preparing the band for their upcoming shows in Houston and then handed the reins over to his assistant director, before making his way back to Leamington, where he and Kari Lynn continue to renovate their Victorian-style home.

He and Kari Lynn met while touring with Corteo. She had come from Wisconsin and he from Montreal. When they decided they wanted a place to settle, they chose Leamington — partly because it was halfway between their two homes and partly because they felt drawn to the natural beauty of places like Point Pelee and the very active arts community here.

“A friend introduced me to Dale Butler, and from there we were able to join The Bank Theatre,” says Roger. “We’ve been members there since our arrival.”

In fact, Roger served as The Bank Theatre’s Vice President during the COVID pandemic, and he and Kari Lynn produced a virtual variety show called Hullabaloo for the theatre during the lockdown.

As a duo, they’ve spent time performing at local functions with Kari Lynn as the vocalist and Roger on keyboards.

The pair has plans to produce a variety show locally, utilizing the rich talents of area artists and musicians. They also have plans to produce a Christmas album of new original Christmas songs.

“We’ve been working on it for a while,” he says. “We’d love to be able to bring that to fruition.”

As for the Cirque du Soleil Corteo show, Roger says he will keep in touch with them, and is still working on a few musical arrangements for them, but his days of travelling to a different city every week are behind him for the most part. 

Corteo recently won the Pollstar award for Best Family Tour. It’s been a touring show from 2005 to 2015 under the big top tent (Grand Chapiteau), but switched gears in 2018 to become an arena show. During that time, Roger performed in his role as musical director/band leader for over 3,600 shows and thinks it’s time to spend more time at home.

After a professional music career that started at age 17 or 18, when he was playing in bands back home, to working on cruise ships through the 1980s, to composing music for movies, Roger Hewett has come full circle.

And while he’s quick to point out that he’s not retiring, he is looking forward to having more time at home, working on his craft and planning productions locally.

He and Kari Lynn have no intention of leaving this area — they are quite content here.

“This is our home now,” he says.