We were so excited to make our first trip to Philadelphia to perform in a concert as guests of Philadelphia Bronze, a group of talented handbell musicians dedicated to excellence in the art and joy of handbell ringing.

We arrived in Philadelphia in the evening of Thursday, May 28th, and had the opportunity to do some sightseeing on Friday, including a fascinating tour of the Malmark factory where our handbells were made, and a visit to the Liberty Bell. On Saturday we visited Valley Forge Park, and then spent the rest of the day meeting and rehearsing with members of Philadelphia Bronze, before the evening’s concert.

The concert took place on May 30th at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in King of Prussia, and the program was as follows, with our pieces shown in purple, and Philadelphia Bronze’s in… well, bronze-ish, perhaps:

Allegro, from Concerto in A Minor …………………. Antonio Vivaldi, arr. Larry Sue

Fear a’ Bhàta (The Boatman) ………………………… Sìne NicFhionnlaigh, arr. Larry Sue

The Butterfly ……………………………………………….. Irish slip jig, arr. Larry Sue

Fantasy on Kingsfold ……………………………………. KINGSFOLD, arr. Dean Wagner

Jazz Pizzicato ……………………………………………… Leroy Anderson, arr. Martha Lynn Thompson

Great is Thy Faithfulness ………………………………. William Runyan, arr. Larry Sue

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee ……………………….. Ludwig von Beethoven, arr. Larry Sue
(with additional organ score arr. T. Paul Rosas, performed by Ross Boerner)

Silver and Bronze …………………………………………. Larry Sue
(with Martha Alford, flute)

Elegie …………………………………………………………. Jules Massenet, arr. Karen Roth

Fountains of Light, from the “St. Francis Suite” .. Kevin McChesney
(Martha Alford, flute)

Grizzly’s Peak …………………………………………….. “Traditional” Irish-American jig, arr. Larry Sue

Greensleeves ………………………………………………. Traditional English melody, arr. Larry Sue

America, the Beautiful ………………………………….. Samuel A. Ward, arr. Larry Sue

Good Christian Men, Rejoice ………………………….Traditional, arr. Kimberlee F. Strepka

Spiritual Boogie! ………………………………………….. American spirituals, arr. Larry Sue

Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken ………………. F. J. Haydn, arr. Linda McKechnie
(Ross Boerner, organ)

Here is a video of some of the highlights of the evening:

Our sincere thanks go to all the members of Philadelphia Bronze, who made us so welcome – with particular thanks to Martha, their director. We’re also thankful to Risë and Sarah for acting as our tour guides during our trip. We enjoyed every moment of our time in PA, and hope to go back there someday!

We’re always interested in collaborating with other groups – so if you’d like to book us to perform in a concert with your musical group, contact us and let’s find out if we can make it happen!