As most of you know, my love of handbells has been something I have had for as long as I can remember. I love to play them and I love to listen to them. I know that they are not everyone's cup of tea, but they are certainly mine! I rang bells in three different bell choirs when I was growing up at FBC in Monroe. That was how I contributed to church and I took pride in that. I wanted to ring handbells in college, but surprisingly UNCG did not have a bell choir. I'm not really sure why that was because they turned out hundreds of church musicians yearly. Part of looking for a church home will include handbells. That may sound silly to some, but to me it is not. I have been in a few handbell choirs as an adult, and they did not work out as well as I had hoped. One choir it seemed like no one really cared, especially the director. Another choir I was in was fun but never once did we just ring handbells. There were either mallets involved or hand chimes. Never just bells. Oh, by the way, I detest hand chimes. They are like nails on a chalkboard to me. Definitely not my cup of tea!
Anyway, until I find a choir that suits my needs, I have started watching handbell choir concerts on YouTube. There are some really good ones on there, too. I am enjoying hearing pieces I have heard and rung before and loving getting introduced to new pieces. I am always a fan of hearing new music and when it involves handbells, even better. The Temple Square Bell Choir is especially fun to listen to and you can find some of their concerts pretty easily. While this does not take the place of participating in a handbell choir, it fills the void for the time being. So until I can put on some white gloves and pick up a couple of handbells to ring, these concerts are going to get me through!
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