ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will present the Handbell Ringers in their fall Ringers in the Round concert Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the rotunda of McClellan Hall on the Ouachita campus. The concert is free and open to the public.
There will be music composed specifically for handbells such as, “High Spirits” by Tammy Waldrop and “A Journey Home” by Karen Lakey Buckwalter, as well as hymn tunes and carol arrangements of melodies that may be familiar to many audience members such as, Sondra K. Tucker’s arrangement of “Jig on Morning Song,” Julie Turner and Kevin McChesney’s arrangement of “Gloria Hodie” and Jason W. King’s arrangement of “Fantasia on Trentham” by Robert Jackson.
“Handbell ringing is as much a visual art as it is aural,” said Dr. Rob Hewell, associate professor of music and director of Ouachita’s worship studies program. “There are various techniques used to play the bells, so that adds an extra challenge for the ringers, as well as making the whole event more intriguing for the audience.”
This semester, the Handbell Ringers consists of 11 students, each playing three to five handbells depending on the song.
“I love how we come together as a family and always strive to put on a great performance,” said Kathryn Lee, a senior music education manjor from Azle, Texas. “My favorite thing is how we all come from different backgrounds, but yet we all have something in common in handbells.”
The concert’s location will also make it unique.
“We perform in the McClellan Rotunda, the acoustics of which are particularly well suited to the bells,” Hewell noted, “and the setting provides a rather intimate experience for the Ringers and their audience.”
For more information, contact the School of Fine Arts at (870) 245-5129.
