Author: Michael Witthaus

Uncommon cutlery at North East Artisan Knife Show

There’s a world of difference between knives bought at the mall, even ones with hard to pronounce brand names, and the cutlery to be found at the upcoming North East Artisan Knife Show. One might need to be replaced a year or two after it’s purchased, while the handmade blades on offer at this event should last a lifetime — or more.

Happening Dec. 13 at Jewel Music Venue in Manchester, the show is the creation of Shannon Cothran — people call him Bear. For 10 years his one-man company Old World Ironworks has made heirloom-quality knives for camping, hunting, woodworking, historical reenactment and food preparation.

The latter is a guiding philosophy for Bear.

“I try to focus predominantly on kitchen knives, things that are going to appeal to home chefs, food enthusiasts,” he said by phone recently. “I like the idea that I can make something someone may find beautiful … to use to create something that sustains, nourishes and brings joy.”

More than 75 vendors will be on hand at the all-day gathering, showing off wares that cover a wide range of uses. For example, Benjamin Williams’ Rock Maple Forge, in Burlington, Vermont, makes not only historically accurate seax knives used by English Saxons in the ninth and 10th centuries, but also hardwood-handled kitchen cutlery and other blade types.

Apprentice Alex’s Anachronistic Armory is a Manchester forge that, as the name implies, preserves the past with absolute precision. Alex Silverman has smithed for the past seven years, along the way competing on the History Channel reality series Forged in Fire in 2022.

“He really hyper-focuses on … reproducing swords, daggers, hunting spears, things like that, in the quality and style that you would have seen carried historically by your everyman,” Bear said. “It’s a very realistic look at something that we’ve glorified in modern media and zeitgeist.”

Another forge at the show will be Anger Knives of Johnson, Vermont. It’s run by Nick Anger, a bladesmith, woodworker, chemist and metallurgist who specializes in customer Damascus steel knives that are both functional and lovely. His other interesting pieces include an axe and a trident, but neither is made for cosplaying.

That’s because most pieces at the show will cost hundreds of dollars, though Bear is bringing a few entry-level items and expects others to as well.

“We have a run of patterns designed that we then either water jet or plasma, then we do the hand grinding, finishing and hand hilting,” he said of the ready-made pieces. “So you’re not paying for the forge time as well.”

The show will be fun even for those who might not be ready to jump into collecting. It’s an opportunity to learn about the process of creating these sharp-edged works of art, from the creators. That said, Christmas is near, and this is the place to find a special tool that stands apart from everything else in an ordinary arsenal of kitchen tools.

“This is going to be an opportunity to meet some incredible artists who are working locally, an opportunity to support a local economy, and the chance to grab something that may or may not ever be able to be picked up again,” Bear said. “A lot of these pieces are one of a kind.”

Though there are plenty of events with knives, like Renaissance Faires, gun shows and hunting and fishing, this will be the first time they’ll have the spotlight in the region.

“Aside from a few shows that are predominantly collector-focused, with a lot of antiques or military and a smattering of artisan knives in there,” he said, “we don’t really have, to the best of my knowledge, any shows in New England that are specific to artisan knives.”

Bear particularly enjoys the artisan knife community’s eclectic makeup, and its sense of purpose.

“It transcends social class,” he said. “At any artisan knife show, you will be in a true American melting pot. Because these are tools that have defined human history and are ubiquitous across time, culture, language, everything. One of the things that brings us together is the human ability to make tools. You get to see people who are making tools that go beyond function into art.”

North East Artisan Knife Show
When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St., Manchester
Tickets: $10 at gopassage.com ($5 youth, $20 family of four)

Featured photo: Symphony NH Brass, 2024. Courtesy photo.

Symphony NH holiday shows, and conductor news

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Symphony New Hampshire. The venerable orchestra will be represented in a variety of forms at five upcoming area events. After that, the work of finding a new leader continues.

A brass quintet will perform two holiday concerts, in Manchester and Concord, and the Symphony’s string quartet is at Canterbury Shaker Village’s holiday festivities. Nine Symphony New Hampshire musicians will join Mannheim Steamroller at their Concord show and, finally, there’s a full orchestra Holiday Pops concert in Nashua on Dec. 13.

With the new year, the search for a new musical director again heats up, as five candidates vie to succeed Roger Kalia. The first, Tiffany Chang, launched the season with a program called “Unexpected Stories.” It included a symphony by Jean Sibelius that was a favorite of Chang’s.

Symphony NH Executive Director Deanna Hoying recalled that she urged Chang to do the Sibelius piece.

“She had something else in mind, but when I said, ‘Show us who you are through your programming,’ she was like, ‘Oh, this might give me an opportunity,” Hoying said by phone recently. “It was a wonderful [one] for her too — not only to learn, but get in front of an orchestra and do this piece that she’s always wanted to do.”

Each of the remaining four candidates will take the stage at Keefe Auditorium in Nashua to support their bids to lead the orchestra, beginning with Filippo Ciabatti. On Jan. 17 he’ll conduct the orchestra in a program called “From Fire to the Stars.” It includes works by Jessie Montgomery, Manuel de Falla and Mozart. Each musical director candidate will participate in a pre-concert talk one hour before their concerts.

Hoying said the season has been challenging. A Halloween concert was canceled due to poor ticket sales, and adjustments are ongoing: “It’s tight; I’m not terribly surprised. I’m hearing that from a lot of organizations, both here and around the country. As the economy is shifting, people are more thoughtful about how [they] spend that discretionary income.”

Christmastime, though, seems to be bringing a welcome respite.

“People are very nostalgic for classic holiday music, and I think people spend their entertainment money differently now than during the rest of the year,” Hoying said. “I am encouraged to see some good [and] pretty stable numbers right now, for really all of the shows, and that makes me happy.”

Hearing “Sleigh Bells,” “Silent Night” and “Winter Wonderland” performed by a classical brass group or a violin quartet is a great recruiting tool, Hoying continued. The same is true of an inspirational Pops Christmas concert.

“People may not come to see you doing Beethoven, but they will come and see holiday things,” she said. “That’s a wonderful entry point.”

Symphony NH Holiday Appearances

Jingle Brass – Manchester
When: Thursday, Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester
Tickets: $34 and up at palacetheatre.org

Jingle Brass – Concord
When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 3 p.m.
Where: BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $34 at ccanh.com

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas (joined by Symphony NH musicians)
When: Friday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Chubb Theatre, 44 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $63.50 and up at ccanh.com

Christmas at Canterbury
When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 4 p.m.
Where: Dwelling House Chapel, Canterbury Shaker Village, 288 Shaker Road, Canterbury
Tickets: $50 at shakers.org

Holiday Pops
When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Keefe Center for the Arts, 117 Elm St., Nashua
Tickets: $35 and up at symphonynh.org

Featured photo: Symphony NH Brass, 2024. Courtesy photo.