Reviews
Classical Voice North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers: 25 years of Advancing the Cause
December 13, 2015
The Raleigh Ringers, true pioneers in American handbell ringing, observes it's 25th anniversary this year.
Classical Voice North Carolina - Annual holiday concert is reverent and rockin'
December 15, 2013
The Raleigh Ringers end their season every year with their annual holiday concert, a two-hour extravaganza of ringing, percussion, light shows, and unique arrangements of holiday and classical tunes, utilizing somewhere in the neighborhood of 360 to 380 bells.
Classical Voice North Carolina - The Raleigh Ringers "A December Tradition" DVD
December 7, 2013
Musicians know that Christmas and holiday music can be repetitive and exhausting for both performers and listeners. Many of us are always seeking new arrangements and settings of traditional hymns, carols, and even pop songs so that we can enjoy them not only in our own celebrations but also in our trained musicians' ears. Luckily, the Raleigh Ringers agree and have sought to present new takes on Christmas and winter with their newly-released DVD and Blu-ray, A December Tradition.
Classical Voice North Carolina - Ringing in Christmas with The Raleigh Ringers Holiday Concert Series
December 8, 2012
There are many different traditions that families use to celebrate the holiday season, from baking special cookies to wearing seasonal sweaters. One tradition that stands out in downtown Raleigh every December is the Raleigh Ringers’ Holiday Concert Series.
Classical Voice North Carolina - Ringing in the summer with handbells
June 2, 2012
If you’ve never heard handbells before, or if you believe the stereotype that only churches can have handbell choirs, the Raleigh Ringers will certainly wow you. This non-profit, advanced auditioned ensemble plays in a variety of styles, challenging all preconceived notions of bells.
Classical Voice North Carolina - Ringing in the Holiday Season with The Raleigh Ringers
December 11, 2011
This weekend The Raleigh Ringers gave their annual Holiday concert in downtown Raleigh at Meymandi Concert Hall, attracting not only their loyal followers who attend every concert but also many new audience members who were certainly in for a treat.
Classical Voice North Carolina - Beaucoup Bells
May 23, 2010
For it's 20th anniversary concert, The Raleigh Ringers returned to Stewart Theatre, on the campus of NC State University. It was the site of earlier Ringers programs, before the ensemble began to sell out larger halls, routinely.
Classical Voice North Carolina - A Very Mellow Christmas - Raleigh Ringers and Sanderson Sandpipers
December 19, 2009
Your holiday season "Bucket List" (things to do before you die) should include, at the very least, a performance of Handel's Messiah, a concert or service in Duke Chapel, Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, Nine Lessons and Carols sung by a boys (or treble) choir, and a concert by The Raleigh Ringers.
Classical Voice North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers Open Twentieth Summer Concert Series
June 7, 2009
The Raleigh Ringers continue to astonish as they demonstrate the exciting versatility of handbells in the hands of sixteen dedicated and virtuoso players.
Classical Voice North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers Bring Christmas Delights to Large Audience of Handbell Enthusiasts
December 21, 2008
As they have done many times, the Raleigh Ringers on Saturday afternoon led a large audience in the celebration of music of the season. Everyone present enjoyed the wealth of traditional music, both sacred and secular, which the Ringers, conducted by David M. Harris, their amiable Music Director, played with their usual energy, pleasure, and skill.
Classical Voice North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers: Musical Skill and Diversity
June 1, 2008
The Raleigh Ringers, whose great skill and musically diverse programs always bring out enthusiastic audiences of local handbell ringers from area churches as well as people who love the sounds of the great variety of handbells in an excellent professional organization, repeated their past successes in Meymandi Hall in the first of their eight summer concerts.
Classical Voice North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers Bring Holiday Cheer at Meymandi
December 15, 2007
This year, the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts hosted the Raleigh Ringers’ holiday performances at Meymandi Concert Hall. These concerts are as secular as a concert full of Christmas carols can be. Mainstream signifiers of the season are pillars of red and green lights, poinsettias galore, and a stunted tree brought onstage during two Vince Guaraldi pieces from A Charlie Brown Christmas. But the group’s showmanship and impeccable performance standards mark what is for some a sacred occasion with consummate respect. Add to that the Raleigh Ringers’ trademark musical inventiveness and sense of humor and you’ve got a great entertainment choice for anyone planning Christmastime activities.
Classical Voice North Carolina -The Raleigh Ringers
June 9, 2007
"Just suppose for a moment that your exposure to handbell ringing has been limited to performances by ad hoc groups of eight to ten amateur ringers doing arrangements of carols, hymns and a few other familiar pieces. If such were the case, you would have been ill-prepared for the opening of the eighteenth Summer Concert Series by The Raleigh Ringers.
Classical Voice North Carolina - The Raleigh Ringers
December 2, 2006
The big-time ringing event if any concert by The Raleigh Ringers.
Grand Rapids Press - Tongue in Cheek Rules the Show
June 25, 2005
An impressive 361 bells graced the stage Thursday night in St. Cecelia Music Society’s Royce Auditorium, and it’s likely the hall is still ringing from the music as well as the cheers of a happy audience.
News & Observer - Ringers Put on a Humdinger
June 15, 2005
Anyone with a limited view of handbells has never heard 14 ringers let loose with Boots' Randolph's "Yakety Sax." And certainly not in the same concert with the finale to Stravinsky's "Firebird."
Classical Voice of North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers Ring in Spring
June 2005
Them Ringers sure put on a good show. Of how many more-or-less classical concerts can one say that? Ah, well, back when I got into this reviewing business...
Classical Voice of North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers Ring in the Season
December 2004
The Raleigh Ringers are without doubt one of our nation's leading handbell choirs, rivaled only by Sonos and perhaps one or two other ensembles...
Classical Voice of North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers Repertory
June 2004
A remarkable encounter of the Ringers and Director Harris with Hal H. Hopson resulted, some time ago, in the prominent composer's personal interest in the Raleigh Ringers...
Classical Voice of North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers Embrace the Season
December 2003
"Tradition," for better or worse - and cash cows? For dance companies, it's Nutcracker . For the Raleigh Little Theatre, it's Cinderella...
Classical Voice of North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers Pre-Solstice Concert
June 2003
Highlights for me of the Raleigh Ringers' June 14 Meymandi Concert Hall program, directed by David M. Harris, were the suspenseful hushes during...
Classical Voice of North Carolina - Raleigh Ringers Ring in Christmas
December 2001
From humble beginnings twelve years ago at Peace College, where there were apparently about as many people in the hall as there were on the stage...