Party Time!
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Paul Kinney
Apr 17, 2024, 3:45:57 PMApr 17
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The Detroit Handbell Ensemble, Kyle Webber director,
is throwing itself a party to celebrate 30 years of performing!
Our celebration concert is Sunday, May 19 at 4:00 at First
Presbyterian Church, 200 East Main, Northville, Michigan. We are
planning for a choir of alumni to play during the concert. We'll
also feature our recently acquired Whitechapel bells.
The concert program will include three premiers: Rising Strong, by our previous director Brenda Austin, Perpetuum Mobile, by Matthew Compton, and the big band piece A String of Pearls, arranged by Sondra Tucker to honor our pearl anniversary. The rest of the program will include favorite handbell compositions of the members, including Carillon by Dean Wagner, Grazioso by Arnold Sherman, and Dorian Dance by Michael Joy.
The concert will be followed by a reception that will include displays of our history.
If you can't make that concert, we are also performing at:
Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1310 Ashman St. Midland, Michigan on Saturday, May 11 at 4:00.
First United Methodist Church, 128 Park St. Chelsea, Michigan on Friday, May 17, at 7:30.
More info about DHE is at RingDetroit.org
In preparing our history displays I came up with some interesting facts and figures:
* Our first member rosters were produced on a typewriter and did not include email addresses.
* I've confirmed 214 concerts in 122 venues. There were likely a few more I don't have details for.
* Our current membership has 174 years performing in DHE and about 500 years of overall handbell experience.
* We've played Midland, Michigan to Dayton, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
* We've played in fifteen venues named First United Methodist Church and eight venues named First Presbyterian Church.
* Our most unusual venue was for a Christmas party held on the loading dock of a grocery chain warehouse. This was a huge space. We did not have microphones and Santa at the other end of the space did.
* Our most difficult concert was in 2007. One of our members had an emergency appendectomy the night before (she recovered nicely). Sue Berry, our founding director, played the missing member's bells and her husband Dave Berry directed. There was a festival in the town the same day and our audience barely outnumbered the performers. Our group now has enough members that we have internal subs, which I appreciated last December.
Paul Kinney
DHE Historian
The concert program will include three premiers: Rising Strong, by our previous director Brenda Austin, Perpetuum Mobile, by Matthew Compton, and the big band piece A String of Pearls, arranged by Sondra Tucker to honor our pearl anniversary. The rest of the program will include favorite handbell compositions of the members, including Carillon by Dean Wagner, Grazioso by Arnold Sherman, and Dorian Dance by Michael Joy.
The concert will be followed by a reception that will include displays of our history.
If you can't make that concert, we are also performing at:
Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1310 Ashman St. Midland, Michigan on Saturday, May 11 at 4:00.
First United Methodist Church, 128 Park St. Chelsea, Michigan on Friday, May 17, at 7:30.
More info about DHE is at RingDetroit.org
In preparing our history displays I came up with some interesting facts and figures:
* Our first member rosters were produced on a typewriter and did not include email addresses.
* I've confirmed 214 concerts in 122 venues. There were likely a few more I don't have details for.
* Our current membership has 174 years performing in DHE and about 500 years of overall handbell experience.
* We've played Midland, Michigan to Dayton, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
* We've played in fifteen venues named First United Methodist Church and eight venues named First Presbyterian Church.
* Our most unusual venue was for a Christmas party held on the loading dock of a grocery chain warehouse. This was a huge space. We did not have microphones and Santa at the other end of the space did.
* Our most difficult concert was in 2007. One of our members had an emergency appendectomy the night before (she recovered nicely). Sue Berry, our founding director, played the missing member's bells and her husband Dave Berry directed. There was a festival in the town the same day and our audience barely outnumbered the performers. Our group now has enough members that we have internal subs, which I appreciated last December.
Paul Kinney
DHE Historian
Ellen Woodard
Apr 18, 2024, 1:44:46 PMApr 18
to Handbell-l
I guess I'm destined to go down in history as the member who caused the most difficult concert...
Don't miss the party!! (I'll be there - only have 1 appendix and it's been taken care of already)
Ellen Woodard
DHE Alum
Paul Kinney
Apr 19, 2024, 11:13:16 AMApr 19
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Ellen Woodard wrote:
I guess I'm destined to go down in history as the member who caused the
most difficult concert...
I respond:
I guess I'm destined to go down in history as the member who caused the
most difficult concert...
In Detroit Handbell Ensemble Ellen will be remembered for 17 years of
fabulous ringing. We wish she could still be with us.
Paul Kinney
DHE Historian
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