The soothing sounds of a cello filled Panda Tire on Dec. 22 as Duncan H. Blackman performed Christmas carols for staff working in the office and customers waiting for their vehicles.
The first song the cellist strummed was “Away in a manger,” before he stopped to chat about his experiences playing the instrument.
Blackman has been playing the cello for 61 years after he took it up at age nine, he explained. He grew up in a musical family and started playing the piano before pursuing the stand-up stringed instrument. Within months, he was playing in a junior orchestra in Regina.
By age 10, he joined the Regina Intercollegiate (high school) Orchestra and became its youngest member. He received special accommodation to play with the group because his dad was the orchestra leader.
Blackman later joined the Regina Symphony Orchestra at age 15 and performed with the group for nine years.
“I enjoy the audience engagement,” he said, noting that the smiles he receives from people make performing worth the effort. “I don’t charge. I just like playing for others and bringing joy and happiness to others.”
In normal times, Blackman — who now lives in Moose Jaw — plays his cello for three care homes in The Friendly City and two homes in Central Butte. However, the shifting pandemic restrictions have made it difficult to keep a regular schedule, and some care homes have dropped him for now.
Blackman has also performed in waiting rooms and coffee shops around the community. With a repertoire of 600 songs and hymns, he likely hasn’t repeated too many tunes at the same place.
As for performing Christmas carols in the office foyer of Panda Tire, Blackman explained that whenever he brings in his vehicle, he often chats with co-owner Curtis Moggey about entertaining customers and staff. The arrival of Christmas was the perfect opportunity to break out the holiday song sheet.
The goal was to perform with an employee, but that fell through, so Blackman went solo.
Moggey listened from his desk to the cellist’s performance and thought having Blackman play was a nice change.
“It’s awesome. This is the first time we’ve tried this,” he said. “Hopefully we can make it an annual tradition.”
Blackman can be found on YouTube and can be reached at [email protected].
