By Adam Zewe
Community News
Posted Nov 25, 2008 @ 05:53 PM (Click here for article link)
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Brandywine Hundred, Del. — The Wilmington Handbell Ensemble are preparing to ring in the
Christmas season with their Holiday Concert Series.
The ensemble, which was founded eight years ago, includes 16 ringers who use their music to show
people the versatility of bells – which can be shaken, trilled or pounded with mallets to create
music, said ensemble member Tricia Reed of Brandywine Hundred.
Each bell plays a different note, so ensemble members must work closely together and count
carefully to play a song, said ensemble member Terry Smith of Hockessin.
The challenges make playing the bells fun and its rewarding to hear all the bell sounds come
together into a complete piece of music, said ensemble member Sue Rippin of Brandywine Hundred.
Adam Zewe
Wilmington Handbell Ensemble
members Sue Rippin, Holly VanSuch,
Sue Spilecki and Ruthie Toole (left to
right) practice playing Christmas
tunes in preparation for the
ensemble’s Holiday Concert Series
Adam Zewe
Dan Murray uses a pair of
mallets to pound large handbells
and create a bass sound during a
rehearsal of the Wilmington
Handbell Ensemble.
Adam Zewe
By shaking a handbell, Beth Browne
creates a high-pitched trill that is a
signature sound in many pieces of
handbell music.
