Ring Them Bells

Grace United Methodist Church will host a concert by the Wesley Bell Ringers at 7pm. on Sunday, June 12, The church welcomes the public to enjoy this free concert, which will feature 17 teenaged ringers playing more than 150 handbells and hand chimes. The concert will include the music of John Philip Sousa, noted handbell arrangers Betty Garree, Kevin McChesney, and Fred Gramman.
In 1963, The Wesley Bell Ringers, a music ministry of Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, began with nine youth ringers and 25 bells. 53 years later the 17 current ringers are the most recent of the 472 youth who have participated in the choir. The choir has developed a reputation for musical excellence that continues to open doors to exciting opportunities.
The Choir performs throughout Northern Utah during the Christmas season, and  each summer travels across North America sharing their music.  This year marks the 51st summer tour for the Wesley Bell Ringers. Their previous 50 summer tours have taken the choir to all 50 states and most of the Canadian provinces. They have performed at the U.S. Capitol, Cathedral of the Pines National Monument, Mt. Rushmore, Disneyland, Disneyworld, and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. 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 choir’s motto is “Diakonia” which means “to serve with love.”  It appears on a banner filled with souvenir patches collected from churches, towns, cities and states where the choir has played over the years.
Wesley Bell Ringers will perform at 7p.m. on Sunday, June 12 at Grace United Methodist Church, located at 1601 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. For more information call 766-1621 or visit www.mygraceumc.org.