Member Spotlight

Bells of Praise, one of three bell choirs at Mountain View Lutheran Church in Phoenix, Arizona, came into existence in the late 80s. They started with only 3 octaves of Schulmerich bells, grew to 5 octaves and just recently acquired the lower 6th and 7th octaves of Malmark handchimes, completing their set of C2-C8! Mondays are rehearsal nights and the choir typically plays the last Sunday of the month and special Church Sundays and festivals.

Bells of Praise is always excited to be asked to play at the Desert Botanical Garden’s Luminaria Event, Apache Junction Public Library, Retirement Centers, and they even staged a Flash Mob around a Salvation Army Christmas Ringer! And that is the nuts and bolts of this choir…NOW for the interesting stuff!

This choir is its own family! They pray for each other and share in one another’s triumphs and sorrows. Vacations are planned around the bell schedule. They celebrate each other’s birthdays and bring in the BEST goodies. These ringers are compassionate and so very funny!

Some of them are engineers, some are teachers, social workers, pharmacy techs, accountants, some are grandparents while others are starting their life’s journey. Some are really tall and some are pretty short, but every single one of them is an accomplished musician. They are passionate about their bell time and are diligent about rehearsals and performances and presenting their very best. They barely squawk when the director asks them to do something out of the ordinary! They are by far the BEST group of musicians around. How do I know all this? I am their director and I am humbled and proud to be a part of this fantastic group! – Leslie Franzmeier

PHOENIX RINGERS HANDBELL CHOIR
Casper, Wyoming

Carolyn Deuel approached the Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Casper, WY, about starting a handbell choir in 1981. Many people helped with the purchase of the bells, and the
Jubilate Ringers began making beautiful music! Later, a youth handbell choir was added.

Collaborations with the handbell choirs of the First United Methodist Church and the First Christian Church brought Ring Noel and Wyoming Spring Events to the community, and Highland Park Community Church also participated.

In 1987, Carolyn left the Presbyterian Church when the administration decided to split her organist/choir director/bell director job and expected her to stay as organist only. Several of
her ringers stayed with her, and for a year, George Cannon welcomed their rehearsing at the First United Methodist Church. Then, Arch and Janis Deuel, Carolyn’s parents, gifted her with five octaves of Schulmerich Bells, since it was obvious the bell choir, by then already a community choir, was going to continue. Thus, the Phoenix Ringers came to be.

The Phoenix Ringers play the gathering music for the December Festival Choir & Orchestra Concert at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church and perform for other church and community groups. The Wyoming Spring Ring, organized by Carolyn and her brother, Dana Deuel, Director of the Koinonia Ringers of the First United Methodist Church, regularly draws ringers from Colorado and Wyoming, with some participants from Nebraska, Utah, and other states.

Sally Reinhart, from the original 1981 choir, still rings, and several others have rung for decades. Others have begun in the last two years, including two high school youth. All of the members play other instruments or began playing bells in college, so reading and making music together are joyful collaborations!

Grace Notes Handbell Choir from Community United Methodist Church in Ogden, Utah

The Handbell Choir Ministry at Community United Methodist Church began 26 years ago as a dream. A small group of people, led by Claudette Rothwell, envisioned a ministry where children, youth and adults of all ages and any level of musical expertise could come together and glorify God with handbells. In September 1997 that dream became a reality when a three-octave set of bells was purchased by members and friends of our church in memory or in honor of family members and loved ones. Over the years we have added an additional two-octaves of bells to round out our five-octave set, another one-octave set that allows us to double up on ringing positions, and both a five-octave set and a three-octave set of Choirchimes. Since our beginning in 1997, approximately 240 children, youth and adults have had the opportunity to make beautiful music with the bells. The Grace Notes is our adult choir and is open to anyone regardless of musical knowledge or church affiliation. Besides playing for worship services, the Grace Notes have played for schools, community events, assisted living facilities, Veterans homes, and many Christmas parties. In addition, we present a Christmas Concert and a Spring Concert each year and invite the community. We are members of the Handbell Musicians of America and have enjoyed participating in Area 11 Spring Rings, Area11 Festivals, other yearly events and workshops, and HMA National Seminars. We enjoy making music together and sharing the beautiful sound of the bells in so many different venues.

Dove of the Desert United Methodist Church Glendale, AZ

In 2005, a handbell program was established at Dove of the Desert United Methodist Church with the loan of a set of handbells from a sister church. In 2007, donors purchased individual bells in honor or memory of loved ones, allowing Dove to obtain a four-octave set of their own. Since then, handbells have been a staple at Dove of the Desert, under the direction of Brent Fike. Bells have played in services once a month during the school year, and usually two concerts per year. During the pandemic, duets, trios, and quartets persevered, recording music to be aired in online services. The 2020 Christmas Concert with the full group was recorded in a backyard! (That music from Global Bronze’s “Great Christmas Ring” could be played with no tables or sharing of bells.) The group has also played at Desert Botanical Gardens and several senior living care centers in the community. The inventory has grown to five octaves, plus five octaves of chimes. In 2023, we welcomed the addition of a youth choir. About half of the adult members are also members of a community choir established in 2014, Las Palomas del Norte. Bells are definitely always ringing in north Glendale!

In the fall of 1994, Fremont High School opened with much excitement. During the first year a seed was planted that would eventually grow into an exciting and unique program within the Weber School District. It all started with a visit from a Schulmerick representative paying a visit to the school while doing some repairs on the Weber State University’s Carillon tower. Diane Soleberg, then band teacher, had used handbells while working as a music therapist and was hoping to see what the possibilities would be of beginning a program at Fremont. Cost prohibited the purchase of any handbells at the time and the dream was set aside but not forgotten.

Four years later, the principal of Fremont, Gary Reed had a meeting with choir teacher Geoff Anderson to discuss funds that he had set aside when the school had opened to be used in the music department. The hope was to use the money for a music lab, but there were limitations in the physical space of the building. Geoff felt the money could be redirected to create a more lasting investment for the school and suggested that the money be used to purchase a three octave set of Malmark handbells. Gary consented and the money was matched with a donation from the Weber School District Foundation and the bells arrived in the fall of 1999.

Within another five years, both a fourth and a fifth octave were added. A Handbell Choir class was added to the schedule at Fremont. Handbell ringing became a part of the culture of Fremont High School. In 2006 the choir was large enough that Geoff wondered if auditions should be held to manage the numbers of students. LeAnna Willmore offered a better solution when she told Geoff, “Never audition a school choir, just purchase more bells to accommodate the numbers”. An additional two octaves were added for doubling positions and the choir can now accommodate 18 ringer positions. That December, our handbell choir was invited to participate in the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s Christmas concert. It was a thrill for our students to perform for 2,100 each night and to be a part of the PBS recording.

In 2008 our school’s handbell choir was invited to participate in the Utah State Capitol rededication. Here we were able to join other school choirs to ring a celebration of the newly renovated capitol and celebrate its 112 year history.

In October of 2016 Larry Horspool, the Grandfather of one of the handbell students delivered a number of large packages wrapped as Christmas presents. They were accompanied by a card that said “Merry Christmas.” The packages contained five octaves of Malmark Handchimes. The chimes were opened and used in a performance two weeks later. As a side note, Mr. Horspool continues to have grandchildren who are involved in the handbell program at Fremont. That donation has influenced his own family as well as hundreds of students in the music department at Fremont.

Today, the handbell program at Fremont High School is multifaceted. A handbell choir of 17 students is currently at the core. Our Handbell choir participates regularly in the Utah Spring Ring and has hosted the event at our school on more than one occasion. Handbells are used by the vocal ensembles at Christmas time where the 90 person A’cappella choir performs pieces where every member of the choir will hold and play a bell. Fremont’s Legacy Chamber Choir has a tradition of accompanying Norman Luboff’s _Still, Still, Still _ with the bells for the choirs to sing each December. The annual Dickens Holiday Feast provides opportunities for students to experience bell ringing without being in a choral class. These students rehearse before school for a few weeks to learn bell basics and repertoire that is performed as part of the Feast. Many of these students go on to become a part of the Handbell Choir. It has become a great training ground.

Our hope is that bells will be ringing at Fremont High School for many years to come. The support of our administration has allowed our handbell choir to be a course offering for students at our school for over 20 years. It is unique in our district and the within the school districts around our school. Our community has offered much support as well exclaiming often their love for the bells.

Our Handbell Choir director is Geoff Anderson

The Greenfield Elementary School Handbell Choir has been around since the school was founded in 1973. The three octave set of Schulmerich handbells were bought by the school’s founding principal, Mr. Robert Rimer. Mr. Rimer got the idea to buy the three octave set from experiencing his children play in their church bell choir. The group rehearses every Tuesday and Thursday morning for 30 minutes before school starts. The choir is currently open to any 4th, 5th, or 6th grade student who is interested in ringing. This choir rings on a three octave set with an additional G3 and three octaves of Malmark Choirchimes.

In 2023, an upper 4th octave was added to enhance the students ringing experience and develop 4-in-hand technique. Previously, this bellchoir averaged between 6-8 ringers. This year, the choir started with 17 interested ringers where 12 students continue to ring in the choir. Students can participate at no additional cost. The group primarily performs a Winter and Spring concert with additional performance opportunities throughout the school year. This group is currently led by Anne Kelley who is the primary General Music Teacher at Greenfield Elementary School. Anne currently serves as the Chair-Elect for Area 11 and she directs the Bells of Joy Handbell Choir at St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Mesa, Arizona.

Willowcreek Ringers was established in September 2021. Lehi city has a rich history of secondary school handbell choirs. For years, our sister schools (Lehi Junior and Skyridge High) have had thriving handbell choirs and we are proud to finally join them in the fun!

Our director, Carl Johanson, hails from Gainesville, Florida but came to Utah to study music composition and music education at BYU Provo. There he received both a bachelor’s and a master’s in choral music education with a strong emphasis on sight singing/ringing. He has been married for 10 years and has two amazing 5 year old twin boys and a two year old daughter. In his spare time, he enjoys playing piano, writing music, playing video games, camping, hiking, sewing, sketching, and cooking.

Our ensemble this year has 13 members ringing 4 octaves together. On top of an annual Christmas concert and Spring concert, every October and February we also put on a joint concert with all of our neighboring secondary schools in Lehi. We play many styles of music including classical literature, sacred arrangements, pop songs, and even video game music. During rehearsals, we spend a lot of time not just learning songs to perform, but also how to ring with healthy technique and how to read music. Our ringers are never assigned to the same bells for each song to give each member an opportunity to ring in all the octaves.

With our motto being “Inspiramus, Discimus, Insumus” (We Inspire, We Learn, We Belong) all who enter our program become lifelong learners and musicians whether or not they pursue music as a profession or a hobby.

Riverton High School’s Bell Choir has enjoyed ringing since 1999 when the school opened. Originally started by LeAnna Willmore as she opened the school’s choir program, there have since been two other directors: Tricia Martindale, and the current director Mathew Ulmer. We always have a mix of students from 10 – 12 th grades, and will involve any interested students regardless of music background.

Riverton Bell Choir’s performance schedule includes regular appearances with the Riverton Vocal choir program in their quarterly concerts, and frequent invitations to perform in the community during December Holiday festivities. The Choir is so happy to be renewing Holiday performances after the pandemic, ringing for church and business parties, retirement centers, and this year feels honored to do some fun combination concerts with the Bluffdale community Interfaith choir, and with the Bells of Joyful Sound. And last but not least, Riverton’s Bell Choir enjoys yearly participation in Utah’s Spring Ring, and has been pleased to host the event many times and looks forward to doing so again this year. See you all there in March 2023!

Summit of Peace Lutheran Church in Thorton, Colorado

Anne Kleve is the Director of Choirs at Summit of Peace Lutheran Church in Thornton, Colorado. This is her twentieth year directing handbell choirs. Summit has three bell choirs, including two youth ensembles.

IncrediBELLS is youth choir ranging from third through eighth grade. This year the group had to revamp and move rehearsals to just before confirmation, as to recruit members. They are still small, but had three brand new musicians join! They all start from scratch each year with “Music Basics”. Currently working on weaving and four in hand to expand their capabilities.

Ascent is the high school choir. They too have had retention issues, as youth are all involved with marching band or athletics. Ascent started out the year with a quartet, up to nine, and back down to seven. They all ring advanced music, as most of them have rang since fifth grade. They always look forward to Area 11 Bell Camp!

Anne has a tradition of featuring & empowering high school seniors by teaching them Director skills: picking music, assigning, conducting, and teaching bells. They each work with IncrediBELLS for 4-6 weeks, through the performance! Those skills they will take with them forever.