John Young moved from Edmonton to Ottawa in 2001 to take a job in the federal public service. He will soon be married to the person he calls “the beautiful Sandra Dance.”

When he arrived in the city, John brought with him a background in classical choir singing and used to be part of a musical Easter play in Edmonton called “Love According to John” for many years. He still does Handel’s Messiah every Christmas at the National Arts Centre and says performing can be tricky because he is blind and has to memorize everything.

He joined the SSO because he wanted to be part of a fun group of people whose interests include Scottish music and poetry, which he has been learning since COVID. He attended his first Kilt up and Curl a couple of years ago, and has volunteered at SSO events including singing Burns songs at Hogman-EH! and at the Burns Supper.

In his own words, John shares his thoughts on keeping Scottish culture and traditions alive:

“I had an adult baptism in Scottish culture at a Burns Supper at Knox Presbyterian church in January 2001. I felt a thrill of fear as the haggis came down the table toward me. I had heard that haggis contained organ meats and was cooked in a sheep’s stomach. And yet, I had to eat some, because this was the food that my hungry Scottish ancestors survived on. To my surprise, the haggis tasted good! What a unique food and unique event!”

Recently, a friend of John’s suggested he support a speech he was making about Burns songs, by providing some singing.

“Again, I felt this fear, because the language is hard to understand. Once again, though, the fear gave way to relief. With the aid of a dictionary, I figured out what Burns was saying, and found that the songs contained great poetry. Scottish culture is distinctive and fun, and adds to the quality of life for everyone.”

Check out Jonh’s newest performance called “Immortal Memories” on YouTube. It’s a collection of Robert Burns poems set to music.