To the continued great benefit of local audiences, longtime Peterborough musician John Hoffman has a bucket list of things he wants to do musically before striking his last note.
High on that list is playing “pretty music.” That’s an aspiration he’ll check off next Sunday (January 25) when he performs at the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre at 2505 Pioneer Road as part of a newly formed Celtic string trio coming together for the first time to mark Robbie Burns Day.
Joining Hoffman for the 2 p.m. concert will be harpist Tanah Haney and cellist Jessica Lindeman, with Karina Bates providing vocals on a few select songs. Admission to the family-friendly concert is free, but any donations received will be shared by the trio and Camp Kawartha.
“I’ve played a lot of music in my life, a lot of music that I really like,” says Hoffman, who has played with the bands Whiskey Jack and Carried Away, to mention a few of his previous music associations.
“But I haven’t had the chance to play that much of what I call pretty music — down tempo, more sedate music. People tend to want rowdy music. It’s fun and I know people like it. I like it too, but I wanted to play some pretty stuff.”
The formation of this new trio is rooted in his past musical collaboration with Haney, most notably their joint involvement with the annual pre-Christmas In From The Cold concert at Market Hall that, for more than 25 years, has raised thousands of dollars for the YES Shelter for Youth and Families.
“I approached Tanah and said ‘Hey, do you want to form a duo to play this kind of music?” recalls Hoffman. “She said ‘Some of the things I was doing before sort of went astray during the pandemic and never came back. Yeah, I’m looking for something.’ I pitched it, telling her I want to play not jigs and reels but more quiet pretty stuff.”
That led to the formation of their duo, Banish Misfortune, which performed Irish, Scottish, and Scandinavian music. Fast forward to last summer when Lindeman — who has performed with Haney on and off for the past 20 years, including in The Stringwood Trio along with flutist Sally Wolf — started coming to Banish Misfortune’s monthly gigs at the Crook & Coffer in downtown Peterborough.
“For one gig, no one was available except Jessica,” says Hoffman. “I said ‘You want to try this? Just the two of us?’ So, we did and we killed it. We had never tried to play music as duo. We knew a lot of music in common, but let’s try playing with a fiddle and a cello. It was really great to have the cello, some rich bottom end, in this kind of music. I wanted to play with Jessica more, so I said to Tanah ‘Hey, you want to start playing with Jessica?'”
Noting that he and Tanah “had been doing a fair bit of Scottish music,” Hoffman says that led to a discussion around doing something specific to Robbie Burns Day, which the three agreed to work toward. As for a possible venue for the performance, there was an in of sorts: Lindeman is married to Camp Kawartha executive director Jacob Rodenburg.
In advance of the show, Hoffman, Haney and Lindeman “kind of pooled the Scottish tunes we already knew” and determined they had enough material to form the basis for a concert.
As of this writing, the trio hasn’t been named, although Hoffman floats the idea of The Banish Misfortune Trio — “We’ve got to figure that out.”
“I’m excited about this,” says Hoffman. “We’re making some beautiful instrumental harmonies. I thought, for years, that the cello is the most beautiful sounding instrument, but never really had the chance to play seriously with a cello player.”
“We’re really enjoying the music we’re making,” Hoffman adds. “It’s kind of exciting.”
According to Hoffman, the musical menu for the Robbie Burns Day concert will feature airs, waltzes, jigs, and reels, as well as “grand old Scottish songs” such as “Wild Mountain Thyme,” “The Parting Glass,” and “Auld Lang Syne.” The latter features Scots language text penned by Burns in 1788.
Hoffman says the performance of both traditional Scottish and “neo-trad” music will serve to pay proper homage to the beloved Scottish poet, celebrated and remembered each year on the date of his 1759 birth.
Now, as trio’s debut draws nearer, Hoffman thinks the continued reverence of Burns is rooted in the fact that “people still love his poetry.”
“I’m going to recite a (Burns) poem while Tanah and Jessica play. I haven’t told them that yet. I thought we need to have more Burns on Robbie Burns Day.”
As for the ingestion of haggis — a pudding made from minced sheep’s heart, liver and lungs mixed with oatmeal, suet, onions and spices traditionally cooked inside a sheep’s stomach — that is a part of traditional Robbie Burns Day celebrations, Hoffman isn’t sold.
“I’ve never met anybody who says they like haggis. The first time I tried it, a Scottish guy came to our house when I was a kid. He brought canned haggis. Can you imagine? My mother dutifully put in a pan and heated it up. I don’t remember being disgusted by it, but I didn’t like it much.”
“But the people that like haggis, they can find events to go to (that serve it),” he notes.
Robbie Burns celebrations are held around the world on January 25. In fact, in Scotland, Robbie Burns Day is more widely observed than St. Andrew’s Day, that country’s official national day.
The basic format of a Burns supper sees it starts with a general welcome and announcements, followed by the Selkirk Grace. After that comes the piping and cutting of the haggis, at which point Burns’ famous “Address to a Haggis” is read and the haggis is cut open.
At the end of the meal, a series of toasts, often including a “Toast to the Lassies,” and replies are made. This is when a toast to “the immortal memory” of Burns is made, and an overview of his life and work recited. The supper usually concludes with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne.”
While you won’t find any haggis at Hoffman’s concert, there are other Robbie Burns Day-related offerings throughout the region.
Hutchison House in Peterborough is offering Robbie Burns take-home dinners available for pick-up at the museum at 270 Brock Street from 1 to 3 p.m. on Friday (January 23). Meals cost $30 each, and include a Scotch egg, tatters and neeps, oatcakes, cheese, a potted salmon sample, shortbread, and a clootie dumpling. For an extra $5, a slice of haggis is also available. The deadline to order is Monday (January 19). For more information or to order, phone 705-743-9710 or email info@hutchisonhouse.ca.
This Saturday (January 24), Market Hall in downtown Peterborough welcomes Tartan Terrors. With a distinctive sound and a tradition rooted in making Celtic music fun and accessible, the band has performed at festivals and theatres across North America, blending the energy of a rock show with step dancing and lots of good humour. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert cost $60 at www.markethall.org.
On Sunday (January 25) from 4 to 7 p.m., the Black Horse Pub at 452 George Street North in downtown Peterborough will be hosting a Robbie Burns Night. Washboard Hank will lead the fun from the stage. The event will also feature the “Address to a Haggis,” with Amanda Higgins piping in the uniquely Scottish delicacy. There is no cover charge for this event.
The Rotary Club of Northumberland Sunrise is hosting a Robbie Burns Night and scotch tasting event from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday (January 24) at the Dalewood Golf Club at 7465 Dale Road in Cobourg. Along with a curated selection of fine Scotch whiskies and a three-course dinner, tickets holders will be treated to Highland dancers, food pairings, the traditional “Address to the Haggis,” and a silent auction. Tickets cost $150 at sunriserotary.ca with proceeds supporting ongoing Rotary initiatives.
