Handbell choir to perform Arts Fest and host workshop

Over the past 25 years, The Raleigh Ringers have gone from a run-of-the-mill community music group to an organization that people move to North Carolina specifically to join.

The all-volunteer handbell group will make its third appearance at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts this weekend, and they’ll debut a new piece commissioned for them by festival director Rick Bryant.

William Payn, professor emeritus of music at Bucknell University, wrote the piece titled “Resilience.” Payn taught Raleigh Ringers Director David Harris when Harris was a student at Penn State.

Harris said the song was written with the post-Jerry Sandusky scandal years in mind.

“We wanted to recognize what the folks have been through in State College and the central Pennsylvania area,” Harris said. “The piece explores the turmoil and how things have begun turn around after all that awful stuff.”

Harris started the Ringers in 1990 when he was looking for a way to bring handbell music to a broader audience. Since then, the group has played in 45 of the 50 U.S. states and been featured in two PBS TV specials.

The group’s success, Harris said, stems from the fact that they play both spiritual and secular music and are not restricted to playing only at church services. A big break came when they started performing a handbell arrangement of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”

Once that door opened, Harris realized that there was a market for handbells beyond the confines of a church environment — both for players and for listeners. Their audiences grew and interest in joining the group increased so much so that members now need to audition each year to retain their spots.

“It’s gone way beyond my wildest dreams,” he said. “We really have no limits on the things we play. You’ll hear everything from rock and roll to Sousa marches.”

The Ringers’ main performance will be at 8 p.m. Saturday in Schwab Auditorium. Prior to the concert, they will hold a hands-on workshop at 10:30 a.m. at the State College Presbyterian Church.

The workshop will include a handbell overview session for all experience levels and breakout sessions for more experienced players. Registration is requested and available at arts-festival.com. Both events require an Arts Fest button for admittance.

This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Handbell choir to perform Arts Fest and host workshop."