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Michael Bernard Fitzgerald is certainly a jack of all trades.

The Calgary-born singer-songwriter will be featured at Algonquin College Jan. 13.

After winning several songwriting awards in Calgary, he has become a prominent member of Canada’s West Coast music scene, touring extensively through BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

He speaks highly of his hometown as a catalyst for Canadian content.

“In Alberta, there have been cool acts like Tegan and Sara and Feist,” said Fitzgerald of his native scene. “Calgary has some really cool exports.”

His latest album, The MBF Love LP, is a rehash and reproduction of tracks from his earlier works. Familiar songs like “I Got Days” and “Reach You” have been completely made over.

Despite three years difference since he first wrote for his independent recordings, Fitzgerald finds that time has little effect on the joy of writing. 

“I started making new songs out of old songs, especially ‘Reach You,’ ” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed playing them, both those songs and the new ones.”

In addition to his ambitious songwriting, Fitzgerald is also a true performer. Throughout the summer of 2009, with the help of countless promoters and performers, he developed a series of live events called Love and Manners.

This tour de force of performance art featured up to 120 musicians, singers and dancers taking the stage simultaneously. The initial shows were made possible by grants Fitzgerald received from the University of Lethbridge.

With these shows, Fitzgerald tried his hand at composing music. In a very short period, he arranged pieces for a vast percussion section, horn players and dozens of choral performers. Working mainly with local players for the performances, he pulled off a spectacular series of shows from a group who had barely seen each other before opening night.

“None of them had met until the night of. They all rehearsed separately,” he said. “It was a really cool moment where something that could go way wrong just worked.”

Through all the production and the composition, Fitzgerald maintains that the greatest part about his job is playing live sets.

He usually brings little more than an acoustic guitar and a loop pedal to his performances.

“I’m usually by myself there with my guitar and try to have some fun,” he said. “My favourite part is playing the shows.”