The Raleigh Ringers are coming to McGregor Hall this weekend for a weekend performance at McGregor Hall. Director David M. Harris and the group of musicians have performed in 39 states, Canada and Europe, delighting audiences with music throughout the year.
But when Harris realized there was an opening in the schedule, he called Mark Hopper. And the rest, as they say, is history. The Raleigh Ringers concert is part of the McGregor Alive! Series.
The Raleigh Ringers performed at McGregor Hall in 2019, and Harris told John C. Rose on TownTalk Wednesday that he was impressed with the acoustics, as well as the overall beauty of the performing arts center. “We were anxious to come back,” he said.
“It’s not often we have a Christmas slot open,” Harris explained, and he and his fellow ringers have a short trip for the Sunday performance. Doors open at 1 p.m. and the concert begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at https://www.mcgregorhall.org/
The concert will include some holiday standards, including “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” juxtaposed with “Blue Christmas” and selections popularized by Siberian Orchestra.
Also in the repertoire are a couple of songs especially written for handbells.
Harris said the group has played original music written by Henderson’s own Dr. Phil Young, who Harris called a “pioneer” in the area of handbell music.
The Raleigh Ringers began in 1990, when different church handbell choirs formed a loose network and would have a summer concert at the end of their performance season.
Once dependent on the kindness of retirement centers for storage of their equipment, the Raleigh Ringers now has its own building where they can keep their bells and all the other things needed for concerts, as well as having their own practice space.
“Ringers can come in off hours and work on their parts,” Harris said, on top of the three-plus hours a week that the whole group comes together to practice.
For those who may not know too much about handbells, there’s more to a performance than just ringing a bell, Harris said.
“There’s so much choreography,” he said, and ringers need to know all their roles, whether it’s moving different bells for other ringers to use during a song, or exactly which ringer is going to turn the page of music.
“All of that has to be worked out well in advance,” Harris said.
Part of the mission of the Raleigh Ringers is to provide education about the instruments to their audiences. Members of the audience often are invited to the stage after the concert to try their own hand at handling the bells, from the giant ones at one end of the table to choir chimes at the other.
Handbell ringers play in coordination with other ringers to produce a complete line of music, unlike other musicians – like pianists – who play the complete line of musical notes to create the desired music.
For Harris, this is just a part of what sets handbells apart from other musical instruments, and he said it’s part of their mission to educate the community about this particular type of music.
“It’s such amazing teamwork when a piece comes together,” he said.
Visit www.rr.org to learn more about Raleigh Ringers.
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