Westminster Concert Bell Choir Will Perform April 30 in Princeton
The Westminster Concert Bell Choir, conducted by Kathleen Ebling-Thorne, will present its spring concert on Sunday, April 30, 2006, at 3 p.m. in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton.
The program will focus on original works composed for handbells and arrangements of classics and hymn tunes. It includes Five Inscriptions by Cathy Moklebust, Fugue in G minor (“Little”) by Johann Sebastian Bach, Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian, and the jazz favorite Take Five.
The 14-member Westminster Concert Bell Choir is composed of undergraduate and graduate students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, N.J. Its director is Kathleen Ebling-Thorne.
Hailed for its virtuosity, the Westminster Concert Bell Choir uses the largest range of handbells in the world – 8 octaves, from C1 to C9. Many of the bells are made of bronze and range in weight from four ounces to 11 pounds; the Choir also uses the large “Basso Profundo” aluminum-cast bells that are a new phenomenon in handbell ringing. The Choir supplements their handbell set with a six-octave set of Malmark Choirchime® instruments from C2 to C8 – the widest range in existence.
The Westminster Concert Bell Choir has appeared on Public Television’s “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and several holiday broadcasts of the “Today” show, including one in which the ensemble was joined by NBC television personalities Katie Couric and Willard Scott. 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 has performed at Carnegie Hall twice during the Christmas season.
Director of the Westminster Concert Bell Choir, Kathleen Ebling-Thorne is a graduate of Westminster Choir College. Well known as a handbell clinician, she has conducted sessions for the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers both on the local and national levels. Her 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.
This May the ensemble and Ms. Ebling-Thorne will release a new CD: Westminster Concert Bell Choir – By Request. They have also made three other recordings: Westminster Rings!, Praise And Adoration and Christmas At Westminster.
Westminster Choir College is located at Hamilton Avenue and Walnut Lane in Princeton. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 seniors/students. For tickets, call the box office at (609) 921-2663.
