Jade Jimenez
The St. Olaf Handbells returned home on March 3 for a concert in Urness Hall following a weekend-long tour through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The Handbell Choir consists of 14 St. Olaf students under the direction of Jill Mahr, who has been conducting the Handbell Choir for the past three decades. She conducts the Chapel Ringers on campus, and also provides flute lessons.
The concert in Urness was composed of 13 pieces. The choir’s pieces included pieces written by current and former composers, with one composition by the Handbells Choir member Henry Rye ’25. The concert showcased the students’ other musical talents, including Ellie Kosek ’25 on the French horn, Hannah Anderson ’25 on the bell tree, Katie Nail ’26 on the flute, and Cole Monson ’25 on the alto saxophone. These students played alongside the bells in accompaniment.
Nail, Anderson, Natalie Robuck ’25, and Heather Wallace ’26 developed a quartet over J-Term where they practiced “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” with an impressive range of the bells during the concert. The Handbells Choir is arranged with five octaves of Malmark bells, which were established in 1985 by former Handbells conductor Norman Heitz.
Mahr mentioned during the concert that the locations for each concert of the tour — Hosanna Lutheran Church, Grace United Methodist Church, and the Madison Mennonite Church — were home churches for at least one handbells member. This created a stronger sense of community for the choir while performing.
Following the concert, audience members were invited to talk to the Handbells performers and to “ring a heavy bell.” Several audience members did come up to interact with the students and receive quick instructions on how to ring a bell. They are, in fact, heavy bells.
The St. Olaf Handbells Choir can be found performing for chapel and Sunday church services in Boe Chapel, as well as varying recitals and other concerts.