Perhaps no instrument is more indelibly associated with a season than the handbell is with the holidays. The reason why can be tough to put a finger on, even for the folks who are holding the bells.
“I’m not entirely sure why they’re such an important part of the Christmas season,” admits ringer Hudson Thiessen, “but they’re definitely an integral part.”
Thiessen is one of the members of the Canadian Mennonite University Handbell Ensemble, which has been busy over the last few weeks sharing the sounds of the holidays both on campus as part of their Christmas at CMU festivities and off it with events like the Noel c’est l’amour concert that they’ll be participating in this weekend.
“I find that throughout the year, there are some people who think of handbells as kind of a niche thing,” says ensemble member Sam Perrott, who is completing a practicum on handbell maintenance and workshop leading, “but at Christmas, everyone loves bells.
“Seeing the extra joy we can bring to people's faces during this Christmas winter season, it just makes me even happier.”
The handbell ensemble is comprised of students from all years of study and meet intermittently throughout the school year. Participants say that being in the ensemble helps to develop their musical skills in unique ways.
“I joined my second year and it was a big way for me to improve my rhythm, my listening, and my ensemble skills that I didn’t really have anywhere else,” says Perrott.
Thiessen agrees that handbells have played a big role in his musical development, but also notes that it builds a strong community.
“It encourages a lot of really heavy listening and it encourages a lot of collaboration and teamwork in a way that I’ve never experienced before.”
The CMU Handbell Ensemble will join together with other community ensembles in the Noel c’est l’amour concert on December 15 at 3:30 p.m. at the St. Boniface Cathedral. Presented by La Chorale des Intrépides, the performance will also feature La Chorale de L'école Taché, Les Blés au Vent, Dominion Voices, Musica Singers Filipino Choir, the Oberih Children’s Choir and Ukrainian Choir, Sean Foster, and the Zoongi Ogichidaa Anishinaabe Ikwezensag Nagamoog. Admission is free, but donations are being accepted for the Centre Flavie and their work serving newcomers, refugees and the less fortunate in Winnipeg.
For more information, visit the website of La Chorale des Intrépides.
