Reviews
Raleigh Ringers Return to Thalian Hall After Ten Years to Spread Holiday Cheer
December 2021 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
World-renowned handbell choir The Raleigh Ringers delighted a nearly sold-out crowd at Thalian Hall in Wilmington. The ensemble played an assortment of familiar holiday favorites, in addition to some unexpected selections – rock and roll classics arranged for handbells!
The Raleigh Ringers: "RR" Stands For Rock & Roll
June 2021 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
The Raleigh Ringers' "RR" acronym doesn't just stand for the handbell ensemble's name; it also stands for Rock & Roll! Known for peppering their live performances with rock & roll hits, the Raleigh Ringers presented an entire spring concert of the genre, wrapped up in a collage-style livestream.
Progressions Album Presents Quintessential Raleigh Ringers
December 2019 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
Well, they've done it again. The Raleigh Ringers have been making excellent music since 1990, and the ensemble's new Progressions album celebrates that legacy with a presentation of all the aspects that make them uniquely what they have become; a fun-loving, polished (no pun intended), professional handbell choir.
Raleigh Ringers Offer Both Spectacle and Substance
December 2016 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
The Raleigh Ringers are one of those quintessential Raleigh establishments. It just wouldn’t be a Raleigh Christmas without a concert (or two or three) and a Holiday Special on UNC-TV featuring these enthusiastic musicians.
Annual Holiday Concert is Reverent and Rockin'
December 15, 2013 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
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.
The Raleigh Ringers "A December Tradition" DVD
December 7, 2013 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
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.
Ringing in Christmas with The Raleigh Ringers Holiday Concert Series
December 8, 2012 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
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.
Ringing in the Summer with Handbells
June 2, 2012 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
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.
Ringing in the Holiday Season with The Raleigh Ringers
December 11, 2011 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
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.
A Very Mellow Christmas - Raleigh Ringers and Sanderson Sandpipers
December 19, 2009 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
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.
Raleigh Ringers Bring Christmas Delights to Large Audience of Handbell Enthusiasts
December 21, 2008 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
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.
Raleigh Ringers: Musical Skill and Diversity
June 1, 2008 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
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.
Raleigh Ringers Bring Holiday Cheer at Meymandi
December 15, 2007 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
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.
The Raleigh Ringers
June 9, 2007 – Classical Voice of North Carolina
"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.
The Raleigh Ringers
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.
Ringers Put on a Humdinger
June 15, 2005 – News and Observer
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."
Articles
Right Place at the Right Time
October 2020 – Overtones
A look at the 30-year history of The Raleigh Ringers
If you’ve been around handbells long enough, chances are you’ve heard of The Raleigh Ringers, of Raleigh, North Carolina. And if you’ve been to one of their shows, you’d think the group was a concept carefully designed by a set of seasoned, professional musicians, and highly trained technical personnel. The Raleigh Ringers, however, has its roots in a church group that performed an annual concert in addition to their regular Sunday services and decided they wanted to more. The group was formed with a desire to perform, lots of hard work, and fair amount of being in the right place at the right time.
Bells Will Toll, But Not For Them
December 2007 – News and Observer
There were no lighters held aloft or hands waving in the air last Thursday night at the Springmoor retirement community, but that doesn't mean the place wasn't rockin'.Reprinted by permission of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina
He Brings Rock 'n' Roll to Ringing
January 2007
For anyone who thinks the words "cool" and "awesome" shouldn't be applied to hand bells, meet David Harris.
Lords of the Ring
December 2005 – Our State Magazine
Dedication, innovation, joy—here are three nouns that can easily be used in the same breath with “Raleigh Ringers.” This unique ensemble of musicians from the Capital City has been in existence since 1990, and their popularity remains on the rise as more and more people discover this music that—it can be truthfully said—certainly rings a bell with audiences.
By L.A. Jackson
Used with permission from Our State Magazine
Press & Media
Upcoming Concerts & Events
Audience Comments
"The music was beautiful, the entertainment hilarious, and the whole experience was wonderfully worthwhile. We loved it so much we tried to get a flight changed to come hear your concert again!"
- Anonymous Fan
“What skill and diversity of music! I could have listened another three hours! Thank you for the inspiration and entertainment!”
- Anonymous Fan
“I never would have thought I'd want to go to a handbell concert, but when I heard handbell rock ’n’ roll on the radio, I told my friends, ‘We're going!’ And it was just great.”
- Anonymous Fan
"The Raleigh Ringers are the best handbell ensemble on the globe!!!!”
Greg Pysh
Minister of Music and Composer
Midland, Texas
“Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!! They never cease to amaze me. Their playing is so musical, their technique impeccable.”
Cordetta Valthauser
Handbell Soloist
Cleveland Area, Ohio
"Thank you all for being ambassadors of superb musicianship, amazing technique, and sharing the joy of doing something you love, which is contagious.”
Carolann Haley
Assistant to Director of Music Ministries
National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C.
“The Raleigh Ringers are truly a wonderful instrument. It is a joy to watch how precisely they respond to director David Harris' musical goals, and how audiences respond as well. This group has definitely attained 'handbell superstar' status.”
Jason Tiller
Sonos Handbell Ensemble
San Francisco, CA
“The best part was, in spite of all the amazing things that they can do with bells – the bass ringer assignments, flawless technique, and all of those kind of things – the best part was that it was musical. I simply enjoyed the music.”
Dean Wagner
Associate Director of Music and Organist
First United Methodist Church of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
“...I did not know how good 'good' is in bell ringing until I heard you. It was simply superb, and you must have known that from the unusually enthusiastic response from the audience.”
Ross MacKenzie
Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua, New York