Calling all hand bell players!

Would you believe we are only six weeks away from the beginning of December?  I was filling up the van the other day and the gas station attendant said he heard we might see snow by the weekend!  We all know that gas station attendants have a secondary degree in weather forecasting. Well, if this forecast comes true, I imagine we will start thinking less of concerts in Fountain Park and start thinking more of Christmas.

Once we start thinking of Christmas, I want you to think of a concert we have coming to the Niswonger on December 1. It features one of the most entertaining and amazing musical ensembles you may have the opportunity to experience: the Sonos Hand Bell Ensemble. Deemed the Olympians of hand bell ringing, this ensemble is one of just a few professional bell-ringing ensembles in the country. The difficulty level of music they perform often requires players to literally run from one end of the stage to the other to reach the next bell needing to be rung. You will just have to see it to understand the excitement and enjoyment you will experience at this concert.  And that has nothing to do with the pure sound of hand bells ringing in the Christmas season with favorites from the holiday season.

The Sonos hand bell concert will be on a Sunday afternoon at 3, and will be followed by a workshop for local amateur ringers. If you ring in a hand bell choir or if you know of a choir, perhaps in your church, please have them notify me. We would love to include them in our free workshop. It is not very often we are able to offer this kind of instruction for such a genre of music makers.  For those attending the concert and wishing to stay for the workshop, we will be offering a dinner with the Sonos ringers and then continue on stage for the workshop.  Tickets for the concert are $20, but the workshop and dinner are free to those attending the concert.

I am excited to be able to share the Sonos Hand Bell Ensemble with you, especially at Christmas time.  This group of ringers from the Bay Area of California normally tours Japan during the holiday season, but when I heard they were going to tour the U.S. this year, I wanted to make sure we didn’t miss out on the opportunity.

The Sonos concert is part of the Community Concert Series, which, by the way, kicks off this Sunday afternoon with a 3 p.m. concert featuring Debby Boone in a show called, “Swing This!”  Tickets are available at the door if you decide to come at the last minute.  It looks like a big crowd for this concert, but some seats should be available.

Imagine, being able to stay in town this Sunday afternoon to watch a Grammy award-winning vocalist with a band, not to even mention someone you see on TV commercials regularly. I suggest you take in some live, wholesome entertainment this Sunday afternoon, rather than stare at the TV falling asleep while watching a football game. Do what I do, DVR the Cowboys and then watch it later.  You can fast forward through the commercials …  just so it’s not one of our Niswonger commercials!

FINÉ.