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Saturday Showcase – 2008 AGEHR National Seminar
By Dean | August 10, 2008
Ron Bellamy with accompanist Michael Joy
Dean: Ron processes in ringing a number of bells. His first piece is Lauda Anima arranged by Susan Luttrell and Arnold Sherman. A very rude hotel staff decided to fill the ice bucket during this song. Ron has a very fluid motion when he is ringing. Mart, Toss, Catch.
Paul: Ron begins his portion of the program by walking in while ringing his first song Lauda Anima by Lutterell/Sherman. This is a quick and lively song with a catchy melody.
Dean: Ballade by Kevin McChesney. Ron has amazing control over his playing. The dynamics and phrasing really brings this song to life. This is a very gentle piece. There is a section in the middle where the tempo increases. Wow, Ron moves from bell to bell with such speed and grace. Ron has a very nice way of taking us on a journey with his music. When he finished and the last chord faded away the room sat very still in the silence. Amazing.
Paul: The next song is Ballade by Kevin McChesney. Ron tells the story of how this piece was written in memory of a boy who died while Kevin was still in High School. A very beautiful melody to accompany such a sad story. The song is written in ABA form with the A-section being very lyrical and uplifting in it’s tonality. The B-section of the song is livelier and has a very joyous feel. Then a return to the A-section to finish out the song. This sounds like a very fun solo to play. Ron is a very musical solo ringer. I am really enjoying watching him.
Dean: Psalm of Love by Kevin McChesney. This song is a blend of familiar hymn tunes. There is a great interplay between the piano and the bells. Ron plays with a lot of feeling which is evident in his motions, the music he creates and his presence on stage. From this performance, I can tell that the music is the most important part of Ron’s performances. There has been a lot of time spent on how that music will be presented to the audience. Wow this is a very long piece for a solo artist. Beautiful.
Paul: The third song is Psalm of Love arranged by McChesney. It begins with a statement of the tune Of The Father’s Love Begotten in cannon with the piano. After the introduction we move into another hymn tune (the title of which escapes me at the moment) on the bells with phrases of “Of The Father’s Love” in the piano. Ron is a very fluid performer as a solist. Many times soloists are choppy with their melody lines, but Ron excels at connecting the notes to make music. I wish that Ron had told us more about this song before he began to play it. I really like it when performers tell us about the piece before they play. I think it creates a better and more intelligent audience. I hate early clappers. After such a beautiful song, people stated to clap as soon as Ron damped his bells.
Dean: His last piece is America the Beautiful arranged by Sueda Luttrell and Arnold Sherman. I am amazed that there is only one person playing this piece. It sounds so smooth. I love the change in style from the first verse to the second. The playing is so wonderful, I am just sitting here with my eyes closed listening. Fantastic mini concert.
Paul: The last song is America the Beautiful by Lutterell/Sherman. Not being in the solo handbell world much, I was unaware of Lutterell until this year. This composer truly has a gift for writing solo music. Ron is very theatrical when he plays, and I mean that in a good way. He is able to dramatize the movements he is making to accentuate the affect of the song.
Tampa Day School.
Dean: This is one of three school that received a three octave set of handchimes donated by Schulmerich for the 50th year celebration of AGEHR. This is the first public performance for this group.
Paul: The Tampa Day School is a special school for students with learning disabilities. This is their first performance outside of their school.
Dean: The first three songs, Jingle Bells, Silent Night Holy Night, Up on the House Top, are from Martha Lynn Thompson’s Ready to Ring Series. Its really great to see a group of elementary student learning our instrument. They gave the largest chimes to the smallest person in the group. They did a wonderful job with the three short pieces.
Dean: Their final piece is Kum Bah Yah arranged by Barbara Brocker. Two of the students are playing the melody on bell trees. The remainder of the group is providing accompaniment on the chimes. Barbara has joined them on her own bell trees. This is a great example of what can happen when we get musical instruments into our schools.
Paul: It is a joy to watch this group of students with learning disabilities excel at something so wonderful. They are doing a really nice job with the songs they are playing. Their last song is a song with 2 bell trees and accompanied on chimes. What a tremendous experience for these young people. The audience is giving the group a standing ovation. Good for them.
Barbara Brocker
Barbara opens her portion of the concert with A Day of Celebration by Kathie Mackie arranged by B. Brocker.
Her second piece is Meditation from the Opera Thais by J. Massenet/P. Taffanel arranged by B. Brocker.
Her third piece is Christmas Tree-O arranged by B. Brocker.
Her fourth piece is Pachebel’s Canon by J. Pachelbel arranged by H. Hopson, bell tree solo arrangement by B. Brocker.
Her fifth piece is Amazing Grace arranged by B. Brocker.
Her last piece is Symphonia on Hyfrydol arranged by Kevin McChesney. She is joined by Ron Bellamy. They play the opening section of this piece as a duet from the tables. Then when they move to the bell tree part they are joined by about 30 other ringers each with their own bell trees.
Dean: This is an area of handbell ringing that I have not seen very much. Its like solo ringing only much faster. Barbara makes the bells sing. Her musical phrasing is wonderful and her use of different mallets adds a lot of color to the performance.
Paul: Barbara has a very unique idea of playing solos on bell trees. I have not seen this before this week and I am really intrigued by it. I am amazed that she is able to do fast songs and slow songs and not be hindered by the fact that she is unable to damp any of the bells. It is obvious that every song has been in the same key because she has not changed her bell trees at all. Either that or she has all the chromatics on the tree. Barbara never talked before any of her songs, which made it a bit uninteresting for me to listen to.
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