We appreciate your interest in becoming a member of Kalamazoo Ringers!
Before you apply to join, we’d like to give you an idea of what it’s like to be a member of our group. As you know, every handbell ensemble is different, so we hope the information here will give you an idea of what we expect of ourselves, and each other.
We seek to give our audiences (as well as ourselves), a wonderful musical experience.
KR’s aim is to give our audiences an opportunity to share in the joy of handbell music! Our members love what we do, and seek to convey that to everyone who comes to our concerts!
We thrive on challenge!
We love to play challenging music! Our repertoire usually spans AGEHR Levels 3-5, with occasional Level 6. It’s a constant learning experience for all of us, as we work as a team, and as individuals, to develop our skills. We strive to get “beyond the notes”, and to play music with artistry and musicality.
We take personal responsibility for getting the work done.
In a handbell ensemble, each member has a unique assignment in each piece. Each of us needs to invest time and energy in learning our music thoroughly. This involves attending Tuesday evening rehearsals in Kalamazoo. We also have several “retreat days” (extra rehearsals, usually on Saturdays) during the year, and we make a lot of progress during those longer rehearsals.
KR members also put some amount of time and effort into working on our music at home between rehearsals, to make sure that we can use our time together on Tuesdays for more than just “learning the notes”. During pre-concert weeks, ringers will occasionally also gather in small groups to rehearse (usually in Portage or Holland). These informal “Open Bells” sessions can be a great way to work on particularly tricky sections of music with your ringing neighbors. Our director doesn’t attend, and the ringers themselves decide which pieces, and which sections, they’d like to rehearse during each session. There’s no requirement to be there, but many KR members enjoy these opportunities for small-group practice.
Every member of Kalamazoo Ringers helps “behind the scenes” in some way. If you have a particular strength – for example, in fundraising, PR work, handbell maintenance, arranging tour schedules, organizing post-concert receptions, decorating handbell tables – we can find a role for you! All KR members help with equipment set-up and break-down, before and after every rehearsal and performance. We can’t arrive at rehearsal expecting everything to be set up for us, then leave without putting it away. Some of us come to rehearsal early to help with set-up. Others stay afterwards to help put everything away. Some of us do both! As with most other handbell ensembles, we all have to do our part with bells, tables, foam pads and everything else we need for a successful rehearsal or performance.
We grow together, and encourage each other.
Each of us experiences moments of frustration or self-doubt when we’re learning – or even performing – our music. Our response is not to “duck and cover”, but to determinedly grow as musicians and as an ensemble. That way, we can not only make the music work, but express it as it should be expressed, and present it as it should be presented. Mistakes happen sometimes, and our role is not to blame each other, but to support each other. Even though we’re all experienced handbell musicians, we want to continue to learn and improve our skills, and we help each other to do that!
It’s all about teamwork!
KR’s members work together to make the music happen. We don’t play the same assignments for every piece, so be prepared to move around! If you have a preference for bass, battery or treble, we can often work with that, but don’t expect to be playing your “favorite bells” for every piece. Those might be someone else’s favorite bells too! Sometimes our director might give you an assignment that’s outside your comfort zone, and we’ll encourage you to give it a try!
As a member of Kalamazoo Ringers, you should also expect to help other group members when the music requires it. There will always be pieces where some parts are more challenging than others, and KR members will help their neighbors by picking up bells for them when needed. Sometimes we’ll even assign extra bells to positions that aren’t over-busy, so be prepared to manage an interesting assortment of bells and chimes! We have section leaders for bass, battery and treble. Those experienced ringers will be there to help if something seems “unplayable”.
KR is a family.
Being part of KR is about fulfilling our mission to bring beautiful music to our audiences. Just as much, though, it’s about caring for each other. We consider our current and former members to be part of a family that has made music together for decades. Group members get to know each other; we talk, we share, we laugh, and yes, sometimes we cry. We know that we can lean on each other when we need to. We all bring “stuff” with us to rehearsal. Our day-to-day lives aren’t always straightforward, and sometimes it’s hard to “put it all aside” and “just play the music”. We listen to each other, and trust each other, and we’re stronger because of it.
We are a welcoming group!
Kalamazoo Ringers doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion/creed, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation or military status. If you have the handbell experience needed, and you think you might be a good fit for our group, we welcome your application!
