We’re Larry and Carla Sue – handbell musicians, and long-distance relationship survivors!
Our history
We both started playing handbells in 1987, but in different countries, 5,347 miles apart. We met online through our mutual love of handbell music! After several years in a long-distance relationship, we were finally able to close the distance. Carla traveled from England to the San Francisco Bay Area, and we were married in September 2012. We moved out of California in July 2016 to start a new adventure in Holland, Michigan, and now we perform as a professional handbell ensemble – West Michigan’s smallest handbell choir!
Our performances
In recent years, we’ve performed in New York City, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nebraska, California, Connecticut, and (of course!) Michigan. We were the featured artists at the 2018 Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 festival on Mackinac Island, Michigan, and performed and taught classes at the 2018 Area 8 festival in Omaha, Nebraska. In May 2019, we performed concerts and taught classes at the Bay Area Spring Ring in Cupertino, California.
We’ve taken part in several of the annual Downtown Holland Street Performer Series events since moving to Michigan. Since 2010, we’ve attended the annual Bay View Week of Handbells, where several of Larry’s handbell arrangements and original compositions have been performed. In the summer of 2020, we took part in several virtual events. We performed in an online handbell concert held by the Handbell Musicians of America Area 12, and led a Zoom discussion on street performing with handbells at the 2020 Handbell Musicians of America Virtual National Seminar. We also enjoyed taking part in the annual Play Music on the Porch Day in northern Michigan.
We’re available to bring our handbell music to your worship service, Christmas event, wedding, concert or corporate event. We can also provide classes and workshops for handbell events, and teach handbell techniques to handbell choirs and individuals. Please get in touch with us if you’d like to book us for your event!
