RiverBells Sacramento Gala Spring Concert

Come and enjoy the beautiful sounds of RiverBells Sacramento. The first handbells were simple gourds or shells which were struck with a stick of wood. Bells have been part of the Christian liturgy for over 1500 years. In 1923, Margaret Schurcliff of Boston founded The Beacon Hill Ringers, the first indigenous handbell choir in America.

Founded in 1998 by director/composer Paul W. Allen, RiverBells Sacramento is a professional-quality, community English handbell ensemble sponsored in part by the Elk Grove Unified School District, and located in the south Sacramento area. RiverBells consists of about fifteen ringers, several of whom are directors of other handbell ensembles. The group performs with six octaves of Schulmerich handbells and six octaves of Malmark choir chimes.

With such history and feeling you will be moved by this wonderful spring gala.

Highlights at this concert include “Blaze” by California ringer, composer, and director William Kyle, big-band era piece “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” and a new arrangement of “Friskin’ the Whiskers,” arranged specifically for RiverBells Sacramento in honor of its 20th anniversary in 2018.