On March 2, the St. Olaf Handbell Choir (Ole Bells), conducted by Jill Mahr, took the stage in Urness Recital Hall to perform at home following their winter tour. The tour took place Feb. 27 through March 1, with performances at churches in Eden Prairie, Minn., Des Moines, Iowa, and Grinnell, Iowa.
Ole Bells is the top-auditioned ensemble of St. Olaf’s four handbell choirs and consists of 13 ringers, which is what people who are in the handbell choir referred to as. The concert featured 12 pieces, several with accompaniments by ensemble members: Joel Dressler ’28 on French horn, Henry Rye ’26 on piano, Katie Nail ’26 on flute, and a vocal performance by Heather Wallace ’26.
Perhaps the most unique element occurred in the first piece, “Sound Scapes” by Matthew Compton, where ringers dunked bells into bowls of water to create a reverberating pitch. Impressed by the ringers, attendee Ellie Glenn ’27 said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger, “I am always enthralled by the bell performances, watching how the musicians use the different types of bells. I came away from the concert with a sense of wonder and cheer that made my Monday evening.”
When asked about her favorite piece in an interview with The Olaf Messenger, ensemble member Ella Pribyl ’26 said, “On tour, I realized that the best piece is ‘Toccata on King’s Weston’ because it’s so fast, it’s so fun, it’s so loud; it’s just high energy from beginning to end.”
Pribyl also reflected on her time playing bells: “This is my 14th year playing handbells. Throughout everything that I’ve done, at schools and colleges and everything, I have always played bells — [and] I have always played bells with Jill. It is so great to have that as such a constant, and all the relationships I’ve made through [handbells] have been so amazing, especially here at Olaf.”
Unlike Pribyl, Greta Stauch ’29 had never touched a handbell before arriving at St. Olaf. Fortunately, she was able to move from the Chapel Ringers ensemble at the last minute to fill an unplanned vacant spot in Ole Bells for their tour. In an interview with The Olaf Messenger, Stauch said that the group of ringers is really tight, and she fit in fast as she was thrown into rehearsals and travel. She will be joining Ole Bells permanently for the rest of the spring semester.
Luckily, Ole Bells is not done for the semester. On Sunday, April 26 at 2:00 p.m., they will perform their Spring Ring concert in Urness Recital Hall.
