The Wesley Bell Ringers will perform at St. Bridget Catholic Church at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 13, in West Rutland. This will be the fifth concert on the Utah-based choir’s 54th annual summer tour and will feature 16 teenage ringers playing more than 150 handbells and handchimes.
The Wesley Bell Ringers formed in 1963 when nine enthusiastic teenagers sold sandwiches for six months and made enough money to buy 25 handbells. After 53 years, the choir has expanded to 10 octaves of bells, and two octaves each of hand chimes, cup bells, silver melody bells, a 25-note set of Belleplates, a carillon and a boom-a-gong. The 16 current ringers are the most recent of the 494 youth who have participated in the choir over the years.
The choir performs throughout Northern Utah during the Christmas season, and each summer travels across North America sharing their music. The previous 53 summer tours have taken the choir to all 50 states and all but one of the Canadian provinces. They have performed at the U.S. Capitol, Cathedral of the Pines National Monument, Mt. Rushmore, George Washington Masonic Memorial, Disneyland and Disneyworld.
The choir has participated, as the featured choir, at numerous handbell festivals around the United States, and performed for The National Music Educators convention.
The 2019 concert in West Rutland includes Albinoni’s Adagio, Disney’s Pocahontas, and the works of noted handbell composers and arrangers.
St. Bridget Catholic Church is located at 28 Church Street in West Rutland, Vermont. Admission to the concert is free, and a free will offering will be collected.
