November 9, 2015

Looking Forward to Christmas and the Holiday Season!

We’re looking forward to Christmas this year! It’s a busy and fun time of year for us, as we get ready for the upcoming holiday season. We’ve been rehearsing Christmas carols and preparing music for events and performances here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Handbells at the Salvation Army Kettle

We’ll be starting December with two sessions at the Salvation Army Red Kettle at Nob Hill Foods in Mountain View. We’ll be playing our duets there between 1:00pm and 3:00pm on December 1st, and between 3:00pm and 5:00pm on December 7th.

The Kara Annual Candlelight Service of Remembrance

We’ll be at the Kara Annual Candlelight Service of Remembrance on December 3rd. This will be the third year we’ve taken part in this very special event in Palo Alto. Members of the community are invited to join together to remember loved ones and significant others who have died. It’s a non-denominational service open to all.

Earlier that day, we’ll be taking our bells and handchimes to a private event in Campbell. We’ll be playing duets there, and leading a “have a go” session on chimes. The following morning we’ll be playing a selection of holiday pieces at a breakfast meeting in Palo Alto.

Chapel of the Chimes Night of Remembrance

We’ll be at the annual Night of Remembrance at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland on December 9th, playing duets as candles are lit in memory of loved ones who have passed away.

A busy weekend at the German Holiday Market and VoiceWorks concert

Saturday 12th December will be a busy day for us as we play duets at the German Holiday Market here in Mountain View, organized by the German International School of Silicon Valley. This will be our third year at this fun and festive event. In the evening, we’ll be heading to Los Altos to play holiday music at a private event there.

On Sunday 13th, we’ll be performing in a shared concert with VoiceWorks, in Redwood City. We’ve been enjoying working with this group, and are looking forward to presenting a festive program of holiday music featuring bells and voices. More information will be coming soon!

Handbell duets at the Sundar Shadi Holiday Display

On December 19th and 23rd, we’ll be playing our duets at the Sundar Shadi Holiday Display in El Cerrito. This is one of the highlights of our holiday season, and if you’re anywhere near El Cerrito, you should definitely take time to visit the display this December!

For more information about any of the above events and performances, please look at our Facebook page, or contact us. It’s not too late to book us to play handbell duets at your own holiday event, so get in touch if you’d like to!

December 14, 2014

The Festival of Carols in San Jose

The 14th Festival of Carols at Foothill Presbyterian Church, San Jose was a very enjoyable evening. A variety of musical ensembles from around the Bay Area took part, and performed for a large audience. We played two of our 8-bell duets there: the Ukrainian Bell Carol and a brand-new, unpublished version of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear. It’s always slightly daunting to perform an unpublished piece for the first time, but this one went well.

The following musicians provided the entertainment for the evening:

Larry and Carla
Brass Bells
Santa Teresa High School Guitar Ensemble
Peralta Consort
The Chancel Choir of Foothill Presbyterian Church
Glory Ringers of Foothill Presbyterian Church,
Ukelele Scramble
Voices of the Valley

We enjoyed all of these performances, and so did the audience. A Festival of Carols event is always such a good way to welcome Christmas and enjoy the music of the holiday season.

Thank you to everyone involved!

Our thanks go to Jay Jordana for inviting us to take part in the Festival of Carols, and to everyone who worked so hard to make the evening such a success. If you’d like to see more of our photos from the event, we’ve posted them on our Facebook page.

December 9, 2014

Upcoming Performances in the San Francisco Bay Area

We have a busy few days ahead of us with upcoming performances across the Bay Area. If you haven’t yet managed to hear our Christmas handbell duets, you have four chances to see us this week!

Fundraising for the Salvation Army

This coming Thursday, December 11th, we’ll be fundraising at the Salvation Army Red Kettle. We’ll be playing Christmas carols and holiday music at Nob Hill Foods in Mountain View. Drop by and help the Salvation Army provide food, shelter and social services to those in need throughout the year.

San Jose Festival of Carols

On Friday evening, December 12th, we’ll be in San Jose, at the Festival of Carols. The Festival of Carols is at Foothill Presbyterian Church, 5301 McKee Road, San Jose, CA 95127, and starts at 7:00pm. This is an annual musical celebration that features performances by the Foothill musical ensembles. Other professional, semi-professional and amateur artists from the community will also perform at the event. The evening ends with a post-concert reception in the Fellowship Hall. There’s no admission charge. However, donations such as non-perishable food items, coats, jackets, and toys are appreciated, and benefit many local organisations.

Upcoming performances at the weekend

Saturday, December 13th, is a busy day for us. We’ll be at the annual German Holiday Market (Weinachtsmarkt) in Mountain View. The event takes place between 11:00am and 9:00pm at the plaza of the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. There will be German food and drinks, and handcrafted gifts from Germany and crafts by local artists. Students of the German International School of Silicon Valley will perform, and there will be an ice rink! The event offers an opportunity to explore the famous tradition of German Holiday Markets right here in Silicon Valley. All proceeds will benefit GISSV’s high-quality bilingual programs.

We’ll be performing between 11:00am and 11:30am, and again between 12:45pm and 1:00pm.

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display

After the German Holiday Market, we’ll drive to El Cerrito for the opening night of the Sundar Shadi Holiday Display. This display is an unmissable holiday tradition. It’s on Moeser Lane, east of San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. The display was first created in 1949, as a gift to the community from an El Cerrito resident, Sundar Shadi. Shadi passed away in 2002 at the age of 101. However, the display he constructed on the hillside next to his El Cerrito home each year continues today. There’s a team of devoted volunteers who care for his creations and ensure they’re on display for the holidays.

The display in the hills of El Cerrito will be lit nightly from December 13th to 26th. The display features shepherds, camels, donkeys and sheep, villagers and the town of Bethlehem. It’s just as Shadi envisioned it would have appeared on the eve of Christ’s birth. We’re making it part of our holiday tradition. Why not make it part of yours? We’ll be playing Christmas carols from 6:00pm (weather permitting!) on the opening night.