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St. Olaf handbell choirs to perform Saturday

By John Andert '10
April 17, 2008

The three handbell choirs at St. Olaf College will perform their annual Spring Concert on Saturday, April 19, at 3:30 p.m. in Christiansen Hall of Music, Urness Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the pubic.

The St. Olaf Handbell Choir, the St. Olaf Chapel Ringers, and the Manitou Handbell Choir are auditioned-based ensembles that perform in chapel, church services, and student recitals. Conductor Jill Mahr leads the St. Olaf Handbell Choir and Chapel Ringers and oversees the direction of the student-led Manitou Handbell Choir.

The program for the Spring Concert will include a piece with the flute, a spiritual, a piece featuring a "singing bell" technique, and a difficult arrangement of a Bach passacaglia. Jana Larson '08, a student conductor of the Manitou Handbell Choir, has been playing handbells for years and says the Bach passacaglia has taken a lot of work to learn.

"I haven't been a part of something that challenging in a long time," she says.

Rising in popularity
Handbell ringing has become more prevalent throughout the United States in the past few years. Mahr says she's noticed that handbell ringing is becoming more popular not only in churches, but in communities and schools. "I have met with prospective students who are interested in coming to St. Olaf because we have a handbell choir, and they want to continue playing as they enter college," Mahr says. With new techniques such as bell tree ringing, which St. Olaf alumna Barb Otheim Brocker '67 demonstrated during a concert on campus in February, there are even more reasons why handbell ringing is rising in popularity.

Megan Reishus '09, a member of the St. Olaf and Manitou handbell choirs, says she has been ringing in churches since she was in fourth grade. "I love how much of a group effort handbells is -- we each only have two notes at a time, and we depend on everyone being right on," she says.

Hooked on handbells
In addition to the challenge, ringing is also fun. Reishus recalls that one time when the handbell choir was performing the theme song from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, Mahr conducted with a foam sword. "Jill is such a great leader and director, keeping us on track to really succeed with our performances as well as having fun right along with us," Reishus says.

Stephanie Watson '08, a student conductor of the Manitou Handbell Choir, had never seen a handbell before coming to St. Olaf. Her roommate convinced her to try out her freshmen year, and she's been ringing ever since. "The part about handbells I love so much is that we are all dependent on each other. In order to have a successful performance, each member has to be on their toes; they must respond to the director and to each other in a way that's even more intense than in other types of ensembles," Watson says.

Larson, the other student conductor of the Manitou Handbell Choir, has also been playing since the fourth grade. "There is a real sense of community in the group because you rely heavily on each other," Larson says. "It is one of the most rewarding things I have done here at St. Olaf and in my life."

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.