Monday, Apr 24, 2017
The Westminster Concert Bell Choir and its conductor Kathleen Ebling Shaw will leave Princeton the day after Commencement for a concert tour of the Midwest, which will run from May 14 through May 25. Titled “Water Music,” the tour program includes original works and arrangements with a theme about water and its elemental presence in our lives, performed on the world's largest range of handbells and Choirchimes®.
Arrangements of familiar works include Singin’ in the Rain, Shall We Gather at the River, Over the Rainbow and Wade in the Water. Original works include Reflections by Karen Lakey Buckwalter and Tempest by Kevin McChesney.
The 15-member Westminster Concert Bell Choir is composed of undergraduate and graduate students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, N.J. Hailed for its virtuosity, the ensemble performs on the largest range of handbells in the world – 8 octaves, from C1 to C9. The Choir supplements its handbell set with a six-octave set of Malmark Choirchime® instruments from C2 to C8 – the widest range in existence. It has appeared on Public Television’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and several holiday broadcasts of NBC’s Today show. Its holiday performances have been heard 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, and it has been featured on New Jersey Network’s State of the Arts program. It can be heard on 11 commercial recordings, the most recent of which are An English Christmas and Let Freedom Ring!
Celebrating her 26th year as conductor of the Westminster Concert Bell Choir, Kathleen Ebling Shaw is recognized as one of America’s foremost handbell conductors and clinicians. She has conducted sessions for the Handbell Musicians of America and at music conferences and symposia around the world. Mrs. Shaw traveled with the Westminster Concert Bell Choir during the critically acclaimed 15-city North American “A Royal Christmas” tour, performing with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charlotte Church and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. Choirs under her direction have performed at Carnegie Hall and the World Financial Center’s Festival of Light and Sound.
Tour Schedule
Sunday, May 14 3 p.m.
First United Methodist Church
Schenectady, NY
Tuesday, May 16 7 p.m.
Calvary Episcopal Church
Williamsville, NY
Wednesday, May 17 7 p.m.
First United Methodist Church
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Thursday, May 18 7 p.m.
Chelsea First United Methodist Church
Chelsea, MI
Friday, May 19 7:30 p.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church
Grand Rapids, MI
Monday, May 22 7 p.m.
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
Waukesha, WI
Tuesday, May 23 7 p.m.
SecondFirst Church
Rockford, IL
Wednesday, May 24 7 p.m.
Cross of Grace Lutheran Church
New Palestine, IN
Thursday, May 25 7:30 p.m.
299 King Avenue
Columbus, OH