Westminster Concert Bell Choir Will Perform April 24

The Westminster Concert Bell Choir, conducted by Kathleen Ebling-Thorne, will present is annual spring concert on Sunday, April 24 at 4:00 p.m. in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton.

The program is a preview of the ensemble’s national concert tour, which begins on May 15.  It will include original works for handbells, as well as transcriptions of works written for other instrumentation.

Hailed for its virtuosity, the Westminster Concert Bell Choir uses the largest range of handbells in the world.  It has appeared on Public Television’s “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” and several holiday broadcasts of the “Today Show.”  Its holiday performances have been heard annually on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today,” and it is included on NPR’s Christmas Around the Country II recording.  The Choir made its Carnegie Hall debut in December 2000.  In December 2002 the ensemble joined Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charlotte Church and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a critically acclaimed 15-city tour entitled “A Royal Christmas.”  The Choir has made five recordings: Westminster Concert Bell Choir, Christmas Bells, Westminster Rings!, Praise and Adoration, and Christmas at Westminster: The Westminster Concert Bell Choir.

Director of the Westminster Concert Bell Choir, Kathleen Ebling-Thorne is a graduate of Westminster Choir College of Rider University.  She is a member of the sacred music department at Westminster, where she teaches classes in handbell training and conducts a second handbell choir.  Ms. Ebling-Thorne is also director of sales and marketing at Malmark, Inc. - Bellcraftsmen in Plumsteadville, Pa. 

Well known as a handbell clinician, Ms. Ebling-Thorne has conducted sessions for the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers both on the local and national levels.  Other engagements have included sessions for the American Guild of Organists, Music Educators National Conferences; the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas Music Educators Conferences; Presbyterian Association of Musicians Conferences, the St. Olaf Church Music Conference, the Eighth International Handbell Symposium in Japan, the Ninth International Handbell Symposium in England and the Tenth International Handbell Symposium in Korea.

Tickets for this performance are $15 for adults and $10 for students/seniors.  For information or reservations call the box office at 609-921-2663 weekdays between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.