Michigan handbell duo Larry and Carla will be performing a shared concert with Gary and Martha Matthews, as guests of the Monday Musical Club of Southwestern Michigan. The Monday Musical Club concert will feature an exciting program, with handbells, flute, piano, trumpet, whistles and vocals.

About Gary and Martha Matthews

Gary Matthews holds music degrees in Organ, Music Education and Sacred Music, and earned a doctorate in Worship Studies. He is also a published composer. He served as Pastor of Worship and the Arts at Highland Park Baptist Church in Southfield, MI, and at Christ Memorial Church in Holland. Gary is known for his virtuosic playing, as well as his tender expression on piano, organ, trumpet and voice.

Martha Matthews holds a Bachelors in Music Education and a Masters in Flute Performance. She has played principal flute with Florida Symphonic Pops, Florida Wind Symphony, Gold Coast Opera, Gold Coast Ballet and the Washington Idaho Symphony. In concert with Gary, she plays flute, whistles, bells and piano.

About Larry and Carla Sue

Larry and Carla started playing handbells in 1987; Larry in California, and Carla in England. Carla has performed and taught extensively throughout England, and also in Estonia, France and the USA. Larry was a member and director of several handbell choirs in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. He is a published handbell composer, bass handbell specialist, and the author of The Bass Ringer’s Notebook. Larry is also a recipient of the Donald E. Allured Award for Handbell Composition.

Larry and Carla first met online on a website for handbell musicians. After a couple of years in a long-distance relationship, they were married in California in 2012 and started performing handbell duets together. They arrange all their own music, both secular and sacred, and run their own publishing company, Choraegus. Larry and Carla aim to demonstrate that handbell performances are not only beautiful to listen to, but can also be graceful and interesting to watch.

Monday’s program will include the first-ever performance of a new flute part for Larry Sue’s arrangement of Blessed Assurance.

The Monday Musical Club of Southwestern Michigan is a non-profit philanthropic and educational organization dedicated to music education and promotion of creative and performing arts. The Monday Musical Club has a rich history of providing the local community with a variety of top quality musicians, dancers and other performers.