Handbell Choirs Perform Annual Spring Concert
by Hope Moural
The annual spring Concordia handbell concert featuring both the Concordia Handbell Choir and the Handbell Choir II will take place Sunday, May 1 from 3-4 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Music Center.
Many different styles of music and formations will be performed, including selections such as “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho,” “Abominations” and Bach’s “Little Fugue in G Minor”—a personal favorite of the Director of Handbells Jessica Kite.
“It has a different sound,” Kite said. “I’m always listening for pieces that will be interesting and challenging, and I actually ended up adding pieces because the students are fast learners!”
Other performance selections include a Macedonian folk song as well as Easter and Lenten hymns.
The handbell concert will have many new aspects from previous years. For instance, this will be the first concert featuring a bell tree duet. A bell tree involves interlocking handbells with one another into a tree shape, and it is played with a mallet.
The students involved in this performance have learned about handbells and teamwork while participating in the extracurricular activity—including freshman Jonathan Rippe, who is a member of the Concordia Handbell Choir.
“It’s definitely a teamwork aspect,” Rippe said. “No one can really be gone because then you are missing part of the music.”
Rippe said the ability to laugh off his and others’ mistakes while getting things accomplished is another way the choir works together, which is beneficial considering the choir has been busy preparing for the concert.
“The Concordia handbell choir is playing the most songs they have ever played before—we are doing a whole lot of things,” Rippe said.
The handbell choir hopes this will be a fun experience for not only them but the audience as well.
“We are interested in sharing the Gospel message, and we hope that (the audience) see(s) hymns in a different way, all while sharing the fun we have,” Kite said.
After the concert, audience members are more than welcome to come up and try out the bells themselves.
“Come to the performance and give it a shot, you can still learn and we will teach you the rest,” Rippe said.
Students who want to get involved in handbells do not need prior experience.
