Boston Baptist Social Union
December 3, 2007
Christmas Program

 

Handbell Choir Concert

The Westwood Ringers will be the special music guests for this evening. We are looking forward to hearing the music of this handbell choir.

The Westwood Ringers home base is the First Baptist Church of Westwood, Massachusetts. The church's handbell program began in 1965, when a gift of two octaves of handbells was received. The bells were first used by the young people of the church. By 1970, a third octave of bells was added to the set, and the group expanded their repertoire. They are members of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, and have participated in many local and national ringing events. Teir first major bell festival was at Jeckyll Island, Georgia, where they performed several solos and participated in ensemble ringing with 1,000 other bell ringers from alll over the United States.

In the early 1970's, a fourth octave was added to the handbell set. In these years they travelled to festivals in

  • Toronto, Ontario Canada
  • Amherst, Massachusetts
  • Bowdoin College (Maine)
  • and Orlando, Florida.

Their travels also included a motor trip through six states, with concerts in Pennsylvania and New York.

They have continued to add handbells to their set, and now ring five octaves of handbells and four octaves of hand chimes.

As the makeup of the church has changed, so has the bell choir. Today they are a group of eleven adults, and include several ringers from other local churches. This group has performed many concerts in the Boston area over the years such as

  • nursing homes
  • community centers
  • museums
  • hospitals
  • and other churches.

In the summer of 1999, they traveled “across the pond” for a nine day concert tour in England. Since then their European concerts have taken them to Germany, Austria, and Ireland.

The Westwood Ringers
Marilyn Downes, Director
Judy ButlerJudith Murray
Christine MurrayTerry Whetstone
Ann NevilleJennifer Harrell
Elizabeth RiceWendy Lewis
Donna MetcalfVickie DeVoy
Paula Scoble 
  
 

Program

Song“Joy To The World”
InvocationRev. Deborah jackson
Dinner 
Special MusicBoston Baptist Social Union Men's Choir
Business 
Program“The Westwood Ringers”
BenedictionRev. Paul Hanna