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!
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.
It’s only September, and technically not even fall/autumn yet, but we’re already scheduling bookings and events for the 2022 holiday season. Christmas is always our busiest time of year. If you’d like to book a handbell performance for the Christmas season, now is the time!
Why book a handbell performance for Christmas?
Everybody knows that bells and Christmas go together perfectly! Think of all the Christmas songs about bells; I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Jingle Bells, Silver Bells, Christmas Bells are Ringing, Ding Dong, Merrily on High… and the list goes on. Handbell music can give a special festive atmosphere to any Christmas or holiday event. As a handbell duo, we can give a seasonal performance of carols and holiday music, or provide background music to add a special, welcoming touch to your holiday event.
If you’re organizing a corporate event, a community group holiday celebration, winter wedding, or Christmas gathering, you should consider adding handbell music! Our duet performances can bring the sounds of the season to hotel lobbies, department stores, shopping boutiques, community groups and private house parties alike. Handbells can be an unusual alternative to carol singers too!
As the 2022 holiday season approaches, we’re already looking forward to local Christmas performances in Holland, Zeeland and Grand Rapids. Look out for us again at the annual Kerstmarkt in Downtown Holland! We’ll be taking our Christmas handbell program to community groups, and performing with the Zeeland Community Band. Of course, we’ll also be involved in performances by the Kalamazoo Ringers. We’re excited that the group will be performing one of Larry’s recent handbell arrangements for full choir in their concert!
The advantages of a (very) small handbell choir
We often refer to ourselves as West Michigan’s Smallest Handbell Choir. There are only two of us, so when we give a performance, we won’t arrive at your venue with a trailer packed with tables, foam pads, and dozens of cases of handbells! We also won’t need a huge space for our performance. We take up far less room than a traditional handbell choir would – approximately the space of half a car-parking spot. It makes us ideal for venues where space is limited, such as small church sanctuaries, senior communities, community halls, hotel lobbies, and private homes. We bring our own table, music stand, bells and music with us. We’ll work with you to provide the kind of entertainment you need, whether it’s background music, an educational program, or a concert-style performance.
A note about COVID-19
Sadly, COVID-19 is still around, and we make every effort to keep our audiences safe and healthy. We’re fully vaccinated, and will take note of any COVID-19 protocols you’re observing for your event. We do our best to maintain social distancing wherever possible, especially around elderly or vulnerable people. Still, every “in-person” event carries some risk. If you’d like us to prepare an online performance video for you to play at your event instead, please ask.
Would you like to book a handbell performance for Christmas?
A handbell performance could be exactly what your event needs for the 2022 Christmas and holiday season. Contact us to request our current performance fees, ask questions, or find out more. In order for us to give you the most accurate quote, please give us as much detail as possible. Let us know what kind of event you’re planning. Is it a worship service, a corporate party, a community event, or entertainment for a senior community? Let us know the date of the event, the location, and the type of performance you’re looking for.
We’re based in Holland, Michigan, but can travel (please enquire as early as possible, and allow for additional costs). We always recommend booking early (don’t wait until December!), but we can sometimes accommodate last-minute requests too. If in doubt, please ask.
We look forward to sharing our handbell music with you!
It’s hard to believe that the 2022 Bay View Week of Handbells was the 11th year we’ve attended this evening together! Of course, that would have happened sooner, if the pandemic hadn’t happened. The 2020 and 2021 Week of Handbells events were cancelled because of Covid-19, so it was a particularly good feeling to get back to it this year.
Our history with the Bay View Week of Handbells
We attended this annual event for the first time in August 2010, when we were still in our long-distance relationship. Carla flew to Chicago from England, and Larry flew in from California. We met in person for the very first time at Chicago O’Hare, and took the short flight to Traverse City together. Until then, we’d only ever communicated online, via Facebook messages, so it was exciting for us to be able to see each other in “real life” and spend time together.
After the 2010 Week of Handbells, we flew back to England and California, and spent a very long year apart. Finally, we were able to meet again at the 2011 Week of Handbells, where we celebrated our engagement with cupcakes at the Monday evening reception. Then we were separated again, returned to England and California, and went through all the challenges of the K-1 fiancée visa process. When the U.S. visa was approved, we were able to make plans to close the distance permanently. Planning the trip was complicated, but we made it all coincide with the 2012 Week of Handbells, and after the event was over, we flew to California to make our wedding plans. Apart from the two years when the event was cancelled, we’ve attended together every year since.
The 2022 Bay View Week of Handbells
This year’s Week of Handbells was a bit different for us, for an important reason; we now have our own Bay View cottage! We bought this Victorian cottage in October 2019, when we became members of the Bay View Association. It was built around 1887, and is a quirky little place, with uneven floors and some interesting features!
We appreciated being able to be “at home” between rehearsals, and to relax in our own place at the end of the day. In previous years, we’ve stayed in hotels, and also rented another of the Victorian cottages on campus. Our cottage is at the bottom of the hill, so we got plenty of exercise walking to and from rehearsals in the auditorium! We also had a steady stream of visitors, and enjoyed giving cottage tours to our handbell friends.
The 2022 event
Once again, Larry had the opportunity to play the aluminum bass bells, in the Deep Pit. Carla played AB5, as coordinator of the Position 7 team. Rehearsals went smoothly this year, and everyone was thankful to be back after the long break. We also heard that Bay View Association members were happy to see the return of the bell ringers, and eagerly awaited the Thursday evening concert.
The repertoire for the 2022 Week of Handbells was as follows:
Festive Praises(Fred Gramann) Tales of the Great Water (Sandra Eithun) Finale (Widor, arr. Fred Gramann) The Entertainer (Joplin, transcribed by Paul Kingbury) – available from Choraegus Intrepid (Jason Krug) Change Ring Prelude on ‘Fred Gramann’ (Jantz Black) Aurora (Matthew Compton) Aria (Donald Allured) São Paulo (Elizabeth Peters) The Sound of Silence (Paul Simon, arr. Matthew Compton) Bulwarkana (Alex Guebert) Puttin’ on the Ritz (Berlin, arr. Hart Morris) The Lord Bless You and Keep You (Peter Lutkin)
There were five winners of the Donald E. Allured Composition Award at this year’s concert. Was this a record? Sandra Eithun’s Tales of the Great Water was performed for the first time at the 2022 Week of Handbells, and we were all happy that she came to the concert to hear it!
Catherine McMichael, Sandra Eithun, Larry Sue, Alex Guebert and Matthew Compton
As usual, the week was a very busy one. Rehearsals are long and intense, and there isn’t a lot of spare time, although we always appreciate the Bay View sunsets, the opportunity to gather with friends on the Wednesday “evening off”, and the Bay View Memorial Garden, where the flowers never disappoint.
What’s next?
Now that we’ve put away our 2022 Week of Handbells music, we’re moving on to more duet performances, writing and playing new music, and preparing for the holiday season. We’ll still be spending as much time as we can at Bay View – driving back and forth between Holland and Petoskey – until the time comes to close up the cottage for the winter months. Before too long, it will be time to sign up for the 2023 event – and we’re already looking forward to it!
Our latest handbell piece is a lively arrangement of the 1917 song Smiles!
“Dearie, now I know Just what makes me love you so, Just what holds me and enfolds me In its golden glow; Dearie, now I see ‘Tis each smile so bright and free, For life’s sadness turns to gladness when you smile on me.”
Smiles is a popular song, featured in The Passing Show, a Broadway musical review, in 1918. The music was written by Lee S. Roberts, and the lyrics by J. Will Callahan. This song is particularly interesting to us because Callahan wrote the lyrics in a cottage at Bay View, Michigan – the place where we have a summer cottage of our own!
Here’s our demonstration video of Smiles – arranged for handbells. If you keep watching after we’ve finished playing on the video, you’ll see a picture of the sign at the Bay View Association, marking the place where the lyrics were written.
More information about Smiles
Smiles is for 4-5 octaves of handbells, with an optional 2 octaves of handchimes. It’s a Level 3+ arrangement. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You can either purchase an individual copy (useful for massed ringing events, or for preview), or purchase the full choir license. Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.
Your purchase of the full-choir license also grants permission for you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service without the need for any additional license or fee, although we do ask you to credit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). See our licensing agreement for full details.
We appreciate your help in spreading the word about Choraegus handbell music. If you record a video of your group playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it. You’re welcome to share it with us by email or on our Facebook page!
Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a PDF file, which you’ll need to download. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide 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 someone has asked us a question even once, it will be there, along with the answer. Please contact us if you don’t find the information you need, and we’ll be happy to help.
We’re looking forward to the Bay View Week of Handbells 2022. More than 100 handbell musicians will be performing some beautiful and challenging music under the baton of director Fred Gramann.
The 2020 and 2021 events had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. This year’s event will be a happy reunion for so many of the handbell musicians! For the last two years, smaller handbell events have taken place on the Bay View campus, including duet performances. This year, we’re all thankful to be able to offer the traditional concert in the John M. Hall Auditorium again.
Here’s a photo of the small gathering at Bay View in 2021:
Here’s an example of the type of music you’ll hear at the concert in the auditorium. This is Larry’s original composition A Minor Crash, performed by the musicians at the 2019 Week of Handbells:
The concert for the Bay View Week of Handbells 2022 will be held on Thursday, August 18th, at 7:30pm. The venue will be the John M. Hall Auditorium, 1715 Encampment Avenue, Petoskey, Michigan.
Admission is free, and an offering will be taken to benefit the Bay View Association Music Scholarship Fund. There’s no need to book tickets in advance, but you should plan to arrive in plenty of time. It’s always a popular concert!
Bay View Week of Handbells venue – The John M Hall Auditorium
Free
John M. Hall Auditorium
1725 Encampment Ave Petoskey,
MI
MI 49770United States+ Google Map
Holland-based handbell duo Larry and Carla will be playing handbell duets during the two morning services at Third Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan. Come early to the 8am service, so that you won’t miss the handbell prelude!
This spring we were excited to have the opportunity to play handbells on Mackinac Island again! Mackinac Island is situated between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas, and it’s a beautiful place to visit. Cars are not allowed on the island, so it really is like stepping back in time. Horses are brought to the island every spring, and they spend the summer pulling carriages, carrying freight around the island, and giving rides to visitors.
Before this year’s event, the most recent Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 spring conference on the island took place in 2018. We were the featured artists for that event. We had such an enjoyable time there, and we were happy that the event could finally go ahead this spring. This time, we didn’t have the pressure of preparing the opening concert, or teaching classes (although we’d have been happy to teach if we’d been asked). It meant that we were able to do more tourist-things and treat it as a much needed mini-vacation!
The conference started on the Friday, with registration beginning on the Thursday evening. We decided to go across to the island on Wednesday, to give ourselves time to settle in and enjoy some of the sights while it was quiet. This turned out to be a really good idea!
Spring takes a long time to arrive in northern Michigan. On our way to the ferry in Mackinac City, we stopped to look at this huge tower of ice. A nearby signed called it the Ice Tree. The ice had started melting away – but there was still a lot left. This gave us a clue that the temperature on Mackinac Island might be a little chillier than at home in Holland.
Arriving on Mackinac Island
We took the Shepler’s ferry from Mackinac City to the island, and had a short and uneventful journey there. We arrived on the island, and decided we could manage to carry our stuff up the hill to Grand Hotel. The wind was blowing fiercely and it was a lot colder than we’d anticipated. Still, we coped, and soon reached the hotel, where we checked in and settled into our room.
Each of the guest rooms at Grand Hotel is individually decorated. We were there before the hotel officially opened for the season, so we could peek inside unoccupied rooms! The one in the photo above was ours; below are a couple of others:
Time to explore the island!
We spent Wednesday evening, and most of the day on Thursday, exploring the island. The handbell conference was being held before the hotel (and the island) officially opened for summer visitors. That meant that a lot of the shops and restaurants weren’t open yet. There was a fair amount of activity downtown, though, as the shops and hotels prepared for the influx of guests. We enjoyed walking along the uncrowded streets and beaches, and admiring some of the beautiful houses… and the horses! It’s always fun to play the “which house would you choose?” game. We can all dream, right?
We wouldn’t like to give the impression that this trip was more about a vacation than handbells… but we did have a lot of fun before the event started. There’s so much to see in this part of Michigan! We walked around 15 miles during the first couple of days on the island.
Rehearsing our 8-bell duets at Grand Hotel
We decided to play through some of our 8-bell duets on the Wednesday. We’re thankful to Grand Hotel for allowing us to rehearse in their Cupola Bar, on the top floor of the hotel. It was a lovely place to practise, with views across the lake. Here’s a video of our 8-bell arrangement of Amazing Grace:
If you’d like to see all the videos we recorded at the hotel, you can see them in a showcase on our Vimeo channel.
The handbell conference started on Friday, with the first massed ringing rehearsal and an excellent concert by Quadrants Handbell Quartet. We didn’t count how many handbell choirs were at the event, but the auditorium was full. There were classes on various topics too. We attended one about handbell music for small groups, featuring some of our 8-, 12- and 16-bell music, along with music by other arrangers. It’s wonderful to know that there’s so much music available for small groups now. Fred Gramann was the director for the event, and we had a surprisingly large number of people in the audience for the final concert on Saturday afternoon. We performed pieces by Fred Gramann, Linda Lamb, Sandra Eithun, Jason Krug and Dan Edwards, and all were well received.
Thanks to HMA Area 5!
After the pandemic-related delay, it was wonderful to gather and play handbells on Mackinac Island again! Our thanks go to all at Area 5 of the Handbell Musicians of America – for all the hard work that went into organising this year’s spring conference. It takes a lot of time and effort to create an event like this, and we appreciate everyone who worked so hard to make it a success.
So, when will we get to play handbells on Mackinac Island again? That’s a good question. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we won’t have to wait too long!
Snow is a big feature of winter in Michigan. Since we moved here in 2016, we’ve grown to love waking up to snow-covered views from our windows, and having to go outside and shovel the driveway. Larry’s become an expert at using the snowblower, and has even written some handbell music about snow!
We’ve just gone through the time of year sometimes referred to as “Fool’s Spring” here. Fool’s Spring is generally followed by Second Winter. We’ve had a couple of weeks with the sun attempting to shine through the clouds, and the snow has been melting away, leaving us with just the occasional patch of ice, and those murky-looking snow-mountains that accumulate in local parking lots. Just when we start to think that warmer weather really is here to stay… an overnight fall of snow reminds us that winter’s not over yet!
Rather than make another video of the two of us playing this 3-octave handbell piece, we thought we’d show you some snowy scenes from where we live. If you live in a warmer climate and you’ve never driven through snow, our video will give you a view from the passenger seat!
More information about Snow
Snow is for 3 octaves of handbells, Level 1+. Sheet music for this original composition is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You can either purchase an individual copy (useful for massed ringing events, or for preview), or purchase the full choir license. Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.
Your purchase of the full-choir license also gives permission for you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service without the need for any additional license or fee, although we ask you to credit the composer (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). See our licensing agreement for full details. We appreciate your help in spreading the word about Choraegus handbell music. If you record a video of your group playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it. You’re welcome to share it with us on our Facebook page too!
Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a PDF file, which you’ll need to download. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
More Choraegus handbell music about snow and winter weather
‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime – the Huron Carol, currently available in two 8-bell versions, but coming soon for full choir!
Winter Dance – a 5-octave, Level 4 arrangement of Seiichi Kyoda’s wonderful, wintry piece
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If someone has asked us a question even once, it will be there, along with the answer. Please contact us if you don’t find the information you need, and we’ll be happy to help.
If you need a handbell performance for Christmas 2021, it might be a good idea to book soon! After last year’s very quiet holiday season, it’s encouraging to see Christmas events and worship services being planned. Our calendar is filling up fast!
Our holiday performance season will start on November 26, at the Kerstmarkt in Downtown Holland. We always look forward to this festive outdoor event, where we’ll be braving the chilly weather to play Christmas carols outdoors. It’s a great way to start the holiday season, and a wonderful place to shop for locally-made gifts, crafts and food.
Handbells are perfect for the holidays!
We’ll be back at the Kerstmarkt on December 10th. This year we’re also looking forward to performing with the Zeeland Community Band at their Christmas concert, as well as giving another handbell duet program at Hudsonville Library, and some private events throughout December. We’ll share more details about our public performances soon.
Handbell music can bring a magical and festive atmosphere to any Christmas or holiday event. We can give a seasonal performance of carols and holiday music. We can provide background music to add that special welcoming touch to your corporate event, community group celebration, winter wedding, or holiday gathering. Nothing says Christmas quite as well as the traditional sound of English handbells. Our duet performances can bring the sounds of the season to community events, hotel lobbies, department stores, airports, shopping boutiques, social groups and private house parties alike.
Thinking of booking a handbell performance for Christmas?
As a handbell duo, we take up far less room than a traditional bell choir would. That makes us ideal for venues where space is limited, or where social distancing is still being observed. We still have a few dates available for 2021 (including some Sundays during Advent), so if you need handbells for your Christmas event or worship service, you’re welcome to get in touch with us. If we can fit your event into our schedule, we will.
Contact us with some details about your event, and we’ll check our availability and provide a quote for you. Handbells are the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season!
