The Wesley Bell Ringers will perform at SecondFirst Church on Tuesday, June 12th at 7:30 pm. This will be the fifth concert on the choir’s 53rd annual Summer tour and will feature 15 teenaged ringers playing more than 150 handbells and handchimes.

In 1963, The Wesley Bell Ringers, a music ministry of Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City, UT, began with 9 youth ringers and 25 bells. From the very beginning it was expected that if you wanted to participate you would be dedicated to the group, commit to play handbells to the best of your ability, and most importantly, care for and about the other members of the group.

Fast forward 55 years! The 15 current ringers are the most recent of the 482 youth who have participated in the choir. The experience and dedication has never changed. The choir developed a reputation for musical excellence that continues to open doors to exciting opportunities. The previous 52 summer tours have taken the choir to all 50 states and all but one of the Canadian provinces. They have performed at the US Capitol, Cathedral of the Pines National Monument, Mt. Rushmore, George Washington Masonic Memorial, Disneyland and Disneyworld. The choir has participated, as the featured choir, at numerous handbell festivals
around the United States, and performed for The National Music Educators convention.
Performances with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and The Utah Symphony Orchestra have been repeated honors over the choir’s history. The 2018 concert includes Debussy’s Sunken Cathedral, Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy, Disney’s Hercules, and the works of noted handbell composers and
arrangers.
SecondFirst Church is located at 318 North Church St., Rockford, IL 61101. Admission to the concert is free, and a free will offering will be collected.
www.wesleybells.org