Forte Handbell Quartet offers lessons, concert in Green Mountain Falls
GREEN MOUNTAIN FALLS • For the first time in the Ute Pass area, the Forte Handbell Quartet features a two-day workshop to include lessons for people with minimal to advanced skills in the musical art form.
Sponsored by Church in the Wildwood in Green Mountain Falls, the two-day conference concludes with a concert by the Forte ensemble Oct. 2.
“We’re trying to create excitement around handbells,” said Teresa Allen, church musical director, who conducts the Wildwood bell choir. “This art form makes new paths in the brain because of all the coordination involved.”
There are social benefits as well to playing bells, she said.
“Handbell choirs are more tightknit than chorale choirs because if one person is missing there is no one to play that bell,” Allen said. “There are so many assets to the art form.”
The Schulmerich company, based in Hatfield, Pa. since 1963, crafts the handbells for the church choir. According to the company website, P.T. Barnum, the great circus entrepreneur, introduced the first handbell choir in America.
Forte’s expenses are funded by a grant from the Kirkpatrick Family Fund.
The registration fee is $80 for the conference Oct. 1 and 2, and includes all educational sessions, two meals and the concert. The schedule and registration are at wildwooducc.org/handbell-conference.
According to information at fortehandbells.org, Forte is marked by artistry, energy and dedication to their craft. In pursuit of musical excellence, Forte strives to explore, innovate, inspire and glorify God through the gift of music.
The Forte concert is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at Church in the Wildwood, 10585 Ute Pass Ave. The concert is open to the public, with a free-will offering.
“The goal of the conference is to expose people in the mountains to the art form,” Allen said.
Forte Handbell Quartet features a two-day conference, with lessons, Oct. 1 and 2 at Church in the Wildwood in Green Mountain Falls. The handbells are part of the Wildwood bell choir directed by Teresa Allen.