Christmas bells will be ringing at the Kerstmarkt in Downtown Holland! Local handbell duo Larry and Carla will be playing traditional Christmas handbell music at the event in 2022.
The Kerstmarkt is an annual open-air European-style Christmas market located at the 8th Street Marketplace in Downtown Holland. Come and listen to beautiful festive music as you shop for unique handcrafted gifts, and locally-made holiday treats. Coffee and hot cider will be available to help you stay warm!
We’ve been fortunate that the weather has been kind to us every time we’ve played handbells at the Kerstmarkt. Handbells generally don’t appreciate cold temperatures! We notice the change in the sound of the bells when we play outdoors in winter, but the worst of the weather generally seems to wait until after Christmas! Most of the Kerstmarkt is under cover, so you can shop for gifts comfortably there. The market is located in downtown Holland, so there are plenty of shops and restaurants close by. There’s enough to do in the town, that you could easily turn a visit to the Kerstmarkt into a day trip. The market will give you a taste of a traditional European Christmas market, without having to fly to Europe.
Here’s a video of one of our performances from the 2021 Kerstmarkt:
Free Admission is free, but tips for the musicians are appreciated!
Handbell duets at the Kerstmarkt! Local handbell duo Larry and Carla will again be playing traditional Christmas handbell music at this popular annual event.
The Kerstmarkt is an annual open-air European-style Christmas market located at the 8th Street Marketplace in Downtown Holland. Come and listen to beautiful festive music as you shop for unique handcrafted gifts, and locally-made holiday treats. Coffee and hot cider will be available to help you stay warm!
If you missed our performance at the Kerstmarkt in Holland on the opening day last Saturday… here’s how it looked:
Handbells generally don’t appreciate cold temperatures! We notice the change in the sound of the bells when we play outdoors in winter, but the worst of the weather usually seems to wait until after Christmas. Thankfully, most of the Kerstmarkt is under cover, so you can shop for gifts comfortably there, even if it rains or snows. It’s a great way to soak up a little of the magic of a traditional European Christmas market, without having book a flight! The market is located in Downtown Holland, so there are plenty of shops and restaurants close by. If you’re traveling from outside Holland, you can arrive early and make a day off it!
Here’s a video of one of our performances from the 2021 Kerstmarkt:
Free Admission is free, but tips for performers are appreciated!
Handbells are coming back to the Kerstmarkt in Downtown Holland! Local handbell duo Larry and Carla will again be playing traditional Christmas handbell music at the event in 2022. Saturday, November 19 marks the start of the 2022 event!
The Kerstmarkt is an annual open-air European-style Christmas market located at the 8th Street Marketplace in Downtown Holland. Come and listen to beautiful festive music as you shop for unique handcrafted gifts, and locally-made holiday treats. Coffee and hot cider will be available to help you stay warm!
We’ve been fortunate that the weather has been kind to us every time we’ve played at this annual event. Thankfully, we haven’t had to cope with the kind of extreme cold that would make what we do impossible. Handbells generally don’t appreciate cold temperatures. We notice the change in the sound of the bells when we play outdoors in winter, but the worst of the weather generally seems to wait until after Christmas! Most of the Kerstmarkt is under cover, so you can shop for gifts comfortably there. The market is located in Downtown Holland, so there are plenty of shops and restaurants close by. Here’s a video of one of our performances from the 2021 Kerstmarkt:
If you miss seeing us on the opening day of the Kerstmarkt, we’ll also be there on the evenings of Friday, December 2 and Friday, December 9.
Kerstmarkt – Holland
150 W 8th St Holland,
MI
49423United States+ Google Map
Free The event is free to attend, but tips for the musicians are always appreciated!
The Michigan lockdown has had a huge effect on live music performances. It was a very necessary process, but people have been missing the usual round of concerts and music-sharing events. Yesterday was an exciting day for us, because we had a long-awaited opportunity to get back to giving a real-life handbell duet performance – in front of an actual audience!
Today’s handbell program
Our handbell duet program was for the American Guild of Organists, Holland Area Chapter. The group had originally scheduled our performance to take place in May. However, the unhappy combination of Larry’s shoulder surgery and the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that! The AGO’s spring schedule was cut short, and our performance couldn’t happen. We were thankful to have an opportunity to present our handbell program today instead!
We appreciated the careful preparation for our performance. It took place outdoors, at First Reformed Church here in Holland, Michigan. The audience observed careful social distancing, and masks were worn. The sound system was there to make sure everyone could hear us. We were also far enough away from the audience to be able to take our masks off during our performance.
This summer, with the lack of performance opportunities, we focused our energy on writing and publishing new music. Today gave us the chance to perform some of the new pieces for the first time. These pieces included our not-yet-published 8-bell Chopsticks, and our recent arrangements of Beach Spring and I Stand Amazed.
One of the things we enjoy most is answering questions about handbells. We were happy to talk about the four-in-hand techniques we use, and about the music we play and where to find it. We also talked about the challenges for handbell choirs in this time of social distancing. There were several handbell musicians/directors in the audience, and we enjoyed hearing about how their choirs are sharing music. It was also fun to talk about the music available from Choraegus that’s suitable for socially-distanced handbell choirs to play!
Thanks to all involved!
Our thanks go to the Holland Area AGO for inviting us to present this handbell program. We’re also thankful to First Reformed Church of Holland for hosting the event and making us so welcome. Thanks to everyone who put on their mask and came along to support and encourage us!
Larry and Carla will be playing Christmas handbell music at the Kerstmarkt – an open-air European-style Christmas market located at the 8th Street Marketplace in Downtown Holland. Come and listen to beautiful festive music as you shop for unique, handcrafted gifts and locally-made holiday treats. Coffee and hot cider will be available to help you stay warm!
Free Event is free to attend, but tips for the musicians are always appreciated!
Kerstmarkt – Holland
150 W 8th St Holland,
MI
49423United States+ Google Map
Larry and Carla will be playing Christmas handbell music at the Kerstmarkt – an open-air European-style Christmas market located at the 8th Street Marketplace in Downtown Holland. Come and listen to beautiful festive music as you shop for unique, handcrafted gifts and locally-made holiday treats. Coffee and hot cider will be available to help you stay warm!
Free Event is free to attend, but tips for the musicians are always appreciated!
Kerstmarkt – Holland
150 W 8th St Holland,
MI
49423United States+ Google Map
Here in Holland, Michigan, our city’s 91st annual Tulip Time Festival has been cancelled because of coronavirus. But that doesn’t stop us from playing Dutch music on handbells! Our latest 8-bell arrangement is the traditional song Zeg Kwezelken, Wilde Gij Dansen; a melody written in 1848.
Would you like to play this 8-bell piece?
If you’d like to play Zeg Kwezelken, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site.
As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Purchase also gives you permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing.
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!
It’s the time of year when the residents of Holland, Michigan traditionally look forward to the start of the city’s annual Tulip Time Festival. The town displays over 5 million tulips. The city celebrates its Dutch heritage – with parades, music performances and Dutch dancing demonstration.
This year’s 91st Tulip Time Festival has been cancelled because of health concerns for the city’s residents and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who usually flock to the festival. Of course, no one told the tulips, so they will still bloom. Carla took the photo below during the 2019 festival, at Windmill Island Gardens.
Since moving to Holland in the summer of 2016, we’ve enjoyed finding traditional Dutch music that can be played using just 8 handbells. Our latest arrangement is the song Het Roosje, which translates as The Rose.
If you’d like to play this arrangement, you can purchase, download and print the sheet music from Choraegus, our music site.
More information about our downloadable handbell music
As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. Please mention the title and arranger of the piece in video descriptions and on printed materials.
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!
Wow! Where did the last month go? Maybe it was because Thanksgiving was late this year, or maybe we didn’t plan ahead enough. It seemed as if November was here one minute, then December was going by, faster than we could keep up with it!
We had a fun and interesting holiday performance season, and managed to escape without having to make any long trips in bad weather. That’s no mean feat in Michigan winters! Many of our Christmas performances are booked months ahead. That makes it impossible to predict if the weather’s going to be cooperative or not.
Our 2019 holiday performances
Our 2019 holiday performance season began the day after Thanksgiving, with our first of two performances at the Kerstmarkt. This annual Christmas market in Downtown Holland is a definite highlight of our holiday season. The bells seem to add something magical to the atmosphere at an outdoor holiday market. We hope to be back again in 2020!
Our handbells at the 2019 Kerstmarkt in Downtown Holland
An exciting new event for us was the Santa and Reindeer event at the Otsego District Public Library. We met Felix the Fox there!
With Felix the Fox at the Otsego Library “Santa and Reindeer” event
We were pleased to present another holiday performance at the Gary Byker Memorial Library in Hudsonville. This was our second time at the Christmas program there, and we hope to return in December 2020. It’s always a popular, entertaining and educational Christmas event, run by the Friends of the Library.
A holiday handbell program at the GRAM
We had an exciting opportunity to present a handbell duet concert at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, as part of their Light the Night event. The audience was small but appreciative, and had not been expecting us, since the event had been given an air of mystery and advertised only as a “holiday bell music performance”. People were pleasantly surprised at the amount of music that can be made with only eight bells at a time, and we chatted with audience members afterwards and explained more about the history and techniques used in playing our instruments.
A “holiday bell music performance” at the Grand Rapids Art Museum
Another performance with the Zeeland Community Band
We presented several handbell duet programs to residents at senior living communities again this year, and also joined the Zeeland Community Band for their annual Christmas concert.
With director Rose Wiersma after the annual Zeeland Community Band Christmas concert
Our handbell ministry activities
We continued our handbell ministry through Advent and Christmas, and shared our music with churches in Holland and Grand Rapids. We also went on a road-trip to Glenview, Illinois. It was a new experience for us to do fierce battle with Chicago traffic!
Handbells at a Christmas worship service in IllinoisChristmas Eve at Christ Memorial Church, Holland MI
Playing Christmas music for the Salvation Army
We gave ten hours to help raise funds for the Salvation Army of Holland, MI, and enjoyed playing Christmas music at D&W Fresh Market – our fourth year there! In recent years, some of our friends have questioned our decision to support the Salvation Army. However, we are always encouraged to hear from people who have received invaluable help from the organization here in West Michigan. This happens every year; people stop by the Red Kettle to tell us that the Salvation Army was there to support them at a time when they most needed it. We are constantly reassured that the local organization is doing amazing work in this community.
Volunteering at the Salvation Army Red Kettle at D&W Fresh Market in Holland
The New Year has arrived, and as we look back at the 2019 holiday season, we’re looking forward to the new adventures 2020 will bring.
We’d like to thank the following people and organizations:
The Kerstmarkt in Downtown Holland, MI Cherry Republic of Holland, MI D&W Fresh Market, Holland, MI The Salvation Army of Holland, MI Otsego District Public Library, MI Zeeland Community Band Waterford Place Assisted Living, Jenison, MI Friends of the Gary Byker Library, Hudsonville, MI Sunset Retirement Communities, Jenison, MI Grand Rapids Art Museum, MI Third Reformed Church of Holland, MI The Village at the Pines, Grand Haven, MI Wespath Benefits and Investments, Glenview, IL Christ Memorial Church, Holland, MI North Park Presbyterian Church, Grand Rapids, MI
We’d like to thank everyone who helped to make this holiday season bright for us. If you booked us for a performance or Christmas program or wrote a review of our performance – thank you. To all those who offered us coffee or a meal, chatted with us, or prayed for our safe travels – thank you. If you took the time to say thank you or send us a card – we appreciate you. If you liked our Facebook page, emailed us, bought and downloaded sheet music from our music site, or purchased a copy of The Bass Ringer’s Notebook – we appreciate you too!
We hope 2020 will be a happy and healthy year for you all!
The holiday season tends to start early in the handbell world. We’ve been rehearsing Christmas music with the Kalamazoo Ringers for a number of weeks now. However, we put off starting our own Christmas duet practising until after our Be Still, My Soul concert in Gregory.
The time is now here, and we’re starting to work on Christmas music. We’re getting ready for the first of our holiday performances, at the Kerstmarkt in Downtown Holland, on Friday, November 29th. This European-style market is an annual event here in Holland, and this will be our third year there. It’s always a fun and festive shopping opportunity, and a chance to enjoy delicious food and watch interesting demonstrations by local craftspeople.
We still have some limited availability for holiday handbell performances in December – so if you’d like West Michigan’s smallest handbell choir to come and play at your event, worship service or holiday party, please get in touch. If we can’t fit you into our schedule for this year, let’s plan early for 2020!
