Handbell Choirs in Beeville
Beeville, Texas
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The Beeville Vineyard
invites the community to an evening of “Chimes and Chocolates”
Thursday,
February 24 at 7:00 pm at
the First United Methodist Church.
Local musical history will be made with a concert presented by
Beeville’s four church handbell choirs: First Baptist, First
Presbyterian, First United Methodist and St. Philip’s Episcopal.
Each choir will ring two selections, then the four groups will
join forces to ring the final hymns en masse.
A
nursery will be provided for young children of concert goers.
The
women of FUMC and St. Philip’s, the handbell choir members and
Vineyard Board members will provide chocolate desserts following
the concert for all attending.
A
goodwill offering will be collected to benefit the Vineyard, which
is in need of additional funds to help those in need in this
community.
Louanne LeBourveau, director of the Presbyterian choir, will
direct the combined groups. Doug Burton is the director of the
Baptist choir; Ann Gartner, the Methodist choir; and Louise
Mayberry, the St. Philip’s choir.
The First Baptist Church Handbell
Choir is a vital part of the church’s rich musical tradition.
Given in the 1970’s by the Austin E. Brown family, the bells
continue to be used for worship. The use of bells in the church
was a dream of Hannah Fair Sallee, Maime Sallee Bryan, and Dr.
Eugene Sallee, who were missionaries to China from 1903-1945.
Thanks to the generous gift of their family, their dream lives
on. Today the bell choir is called “Praising Hands,” reflecting
the desire of the group to use their talents to praise God.
St. Philip’s choir was organized in 1985, when Pam Sumners,
who had played in a choir in New York City, proposed the idea to
the congregation. The Rev. Charles Sumners, rector of the parish
at that time, borrowed a two-octave set from St. Francis
Episcopal Church in Victoria for potential choir members to try
out. They decided to purchase their own three-octave set with
donations from church members in memory of loved ones.
The choir plays for
church services and occasional community events. Several members
attended a clinic at the Manchaca Methodist Church several years
ago which concluded with a mass ring of many bell choirs and an
English Handbell conference in Scottsdale, Arizona a few summers
ago.
The First Presbyterian Handbell Choir began in 1986 as a
three- octave adult group, and a youth choir was active for a few
years. Currently, the “Handbell Family” practices weekly
throughout the school year and performs for church worship
services and an occasional community program.
In
1996 the group held its first Christmas concert, an event that has
become an annual celebration. The choir attended its first
American Guild of English Handbell Ringers conference in 2000, at
which they had the opportunity to attend bell ringing workshops
and to play in a group of many choirs directed by a nationally
recognized clinician. It was at that conference that the group
members heard hand chimes for the first time and decided to
purchase them for their choir. Now they play music written for
both bells and chimes.
The First United Methodist Handbell Choir is the newest one in
Beeville, having been organized in the fall of 1999 with Everett
McAulay as the first director. Their three octaves were purchased
with memorials given by church members in memory of loved ones.
They, too, play for church services from time to time.
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