by Jackie Saunders
Not many community handbell choirs can boast a reputation so great that prospective members move across states to join the group, but then, not every choir is like the Raleigh Ringers.
Made up of 16 ringers, this nationally acclaimed community handbell group has performed in 34 states, as well as several cities in France. It has recorded four CDs, had more than 100 pieces of music written specifically for it, and has the world’s largest collection of handbells owned by a performing group (more than 350 instruments). Ringers include stay-at-home moms, a nurse, a music teacher, and many who started learning in a church group as children. "It’s nice to make music and push yourself to learn from each other musically,” says Diane vanDijk who is in her third season with the Raleigh Ringers. “Being around a group of people who enjoy the same thing is always fun.”
Despite the notoriety the group holds and the incredible time commitment, not one member is paid for his or her musicianship, and the Raleigh Ringers remain a community handbell choir to the core. “Our members are really passionate about this instrument,” says Dave Harris, founder and director of the group. “One of the things that makes it really unique is the teamwork involved. One person alone can’t play the melody, so everyone has to work together to play a song.”
The choir began in 1990, when a collection of handbell ringers at Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, decided they wanted to branch out and play as a group beyond the holiday season. After Harris announced that he wanted to form a community handbell group, 17 people auditioned, one person decided it wasn’t for her, and the rest made up the first group of Raleigh Ringers. “We didn’t have very many gigs those first two years,” says Cindy Massey, 56, a charter member of the choir. “We had to beg our friends and relations to come to concerts.”
Repeat the Sounding Joy
During the choir’s first years, the Raleigh Ringers held its holiday concert in a venue with seating for 200 people. “We thought we were big time then,” says Massey. As the years went by, the group’s popularity soared and they moved to Meredith College that held 600 audience members and then to the Stewart Theatre at North Carolina State University, which held 850. Today, the Raleigh Ringers’ concerts, held at the Meymandi Concert Hall in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, almost sell out all three shows to more than 1,600 audience members. Besides the North Carolina Symphony, the Raleigh Ringers command the second largest audiences at the concert hall with their holiday shows. “I think the bells have such a pleasing quality,” says Massey. “I think people love the range of music we can play. We can make our instruments sound like a booming orchestra or like a solo flutist.”
Holiday concerts are generally held two weeks before Christmas. Although the music varies from year to year, every concert ends with “Silent Night.” The Raleigh Ringers pass out battery-operated candles to every audience member and the lights are switched off to reveal a magical glow from the thousand-plus mini lights.
I Hope I Get It
No matter how long a ringer has been with the group, each person must re-audition every year along with the new hopefuls. The three-part audition begins with the ringer playing by herself and being tested on reading and rhythms. Next, the ringer plays with the group and reads new songs she hasn’t seen before. The final part is the interview, where the potential Raleigh Ringer has to makesure she can commit to a three-anda- half-hour rehearsal every Thursday night, holiday concerts, various summer and spring shows, and traveling tours. "This does need to be high on your list of things to do because it does take a lot of your free time,” says Harris. “We travel a lot together and spend a lot of time withone another, so we get to know everyone really well.”
Rock ‘n’ Ring
One thing that brings everyone in the group together is their desire to try songs that most people wouldn’t necessarily associate with handbells. The Raleigh Ringers play “Stairway to Heaven,” a favorite piece for many, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and songs from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. For some of the rock pieces, the group dons tie-dye gloves and t-shirts, as well as rock star wigs.
"All of our songs aren’t necessarily church-related, and while we do play some that are appropriate for that, the reason this group started was to play fun things you can’t play at church,” says vanDijk. “Everybody in the group, for the most part, used to play in a church handbell choir. This is our outlet to play something a little bit different.”
Nancy Ritter, 49, who has been involved with various handbell choirs throughout her life, was so captivated by the Raleigh Ringers that she moved her husband and two children, ages six and nine, from Florida to North Carolina, so she could join the group. Eleven years later, Ritter,now managing director of the group, still appreciates the unique opportunities that come from ringing with the Raleigh Ringers.
"For one thing, the group has the largest collection of different kinds of handbell instruments, so when we play a song, it’s so much more with the added colors from the different sounds,” says Ritter. “The music the group plays is challenging and interesting to the audience, so it’s a whole package of entertainment.”
