Boston Globe Working Artist SPOTLIGHT: David Coffin

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12.03.2025

His rules: ‘No necktie, no meetings.’ But he’ll play you a chantey, and maybe rouse you to sing.

Working Artist Column
By Cate McQuaid, Globe correspondent. Updated December 2, 2025.

David Coffin, the master of ceremonies at Midwinter Revels since 1990 with a baritone-treble concertina at his home studio in Gloucester. JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF

GLOUCESTER– “I have three rules in life,” said David Coffin. “No office. No meetings. No necktie.”

Every December, the musician graces the stage of Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre as Master of Ceremonies at “Midwinter Revels.” This year’s show, “A Scandinavian Story for Christmas,” runs Dec. 12-28. Coffin, who took over as emcee from “Revels” founder Jack Langstaff in 1990, leads the audience in song.

“I always refer to that role as the part that Jack built. He wanted everyone to have as much fun as he was having,” said Coffin, who relishes breaking the fourth wall to teach and regale his audience. The year “Revels” went dark due to the pandemic, he said, “was the weirdest Christmas I can ever remember, because I was home.”

A baritone-treble concertina in David Coffin’s studio in Gloucester. JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF

Coffin can’t stop performing. “If I were to retire, I’ll do everything I’m still doing,” he said, “but maybe I’ll do a little less of it.”

Where to find him: davidcoffin.com

Age: 65

David Coffin plays the bass hurten schalmei at his home studio in Gloucester. JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF

Where he grew up “I’m still growing up,” Coffin said. He spent his early years in New Haven, Conn., where his father, peace activist William Sloane Coffin, was chaplain at Yale University.

Lives in: Gloucester

Making a living: He cobbles together income from emceeing “Revels,” teaching school enrichment programs, and running narration for Boston Harbor City Cruises. He works with Save the Harbor, Save the Bay taking qualified youth groups on free day trips to Boston Harbor islands.

A quilt made of pieces from different costumes for the Midwinter Revels hangs inside David Coffin’s studio in Gloucester. JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF

Studio: Coffin’s music room is stocked with wind instruments and concertinas. A quilt on the wall stitched by “Revels” costume designer Heidi Hermiller features swatches from the show’s costumes. “About 40 pieces of fabric are pieces I’ve worn,” Coffin said.

How he started: When the musician was three, Grace Feldman, a student at the Yale School of Music, passed his house each day on her way to teach recorder at the Neighborhood Music School. “She would put these little notes through the chicken wire fence between our yard and the sidewalk,” Coffin remembered. They were drawings: An owl on ice skates playing flute; a snail with a shell that turned into a French horn.

“We showed our parents those little notes. They said, ‘invite her in for tea,’” Coffin said. “She ended up moving into our house and living with us. She was our Mary Poppins,” and taught them recorder.

Various recorders and a Gemshorn (L) inside David Coffin’s studio in Gloucester. JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF

What he makes: He plays recorder and other early wind instruments; he took up the concertina so he could sing and play at the same time. “Hopefully, I make a lot of people happy,” he said.

How he works: “Everything I do is as interactive as possible because that’s what keeps it fresh,” Coffin said. “You look at who’s in front of you and you go from there.”

Advice for artists: Not every gig is a dream job. “I played a Christmas party for an optometrist in and amongst all the eyeglasses,” Coffin said. “You want to be sure you’re doing it for the right reasons,” including getting paid. “But don’t lose the music, because then you’re not a musician anymore. You’re a robot.”