Ding Dong Merrily on High

The bells are sweetly ringing! 'Tis the season for multiple opportunities to attend Christmas hanbell concerts.....

The Grantham Ringers will be ringing at Grantham Church on the 21st. They will be joined by several other choirs and ensembles. More information here.

One of the Camp Hill United Methodist bell choirs (I think maybe the Chancel Bells?) is playing at the governor's mansion this Sunday, the 14th at 1:00pm. They'll also be playing on Christmas Eve. More info on the Christmas Eve service here.

And finally, I got this email tonight from the Hershey Handbell Ensemble. They normally have several holiday concerts, but this appears to be the only one this season.

The Hershey Handbell Ensemble, a thirteen-member auditioned community group, will present a free concert on Saturday, December 13, 2008 at 12:00 PM at Strawberry Square Shopping Complex, 11 North Third Street, Harrisburg.

The concert will include arrangements of holiday music and transcriptions of classical works for handbells. The program will feature music of Bach, arr. Gramann; with carol arrangements by Cynthia Dobrinski, Cathy Moklebust, Terry Price, and Valerie Stephenson. Also included will be several selections for handbell duet and piano rung by Ruth Dunnewold and Susan Stiller. Visit the program page of the website for complete details.

The ensemble, under the direction of Shawn Gingrich, was formed in 2004 and is committed to advancing the art of handbell ringing through performance, education, and community, while uniting people through this musical art.

Ensemble members are: Maggie Beatty, Holly Brubaker, Ruth Dunnewold, Cindy Fair, Laine Heltebridle, Laura Henry, Dawn Herring, Liz Kielley, John Kilheffer, Natalie Sandel, Susan Stiller, Gay Wells, and Janice Wilson.

For more information visit www.hersheyhandbellensemble.org or call Shawn Gingrich 717-583-1922.