Handbell festival: They're no dingalings

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Bells may not be the most popular instrument played by high school students but for the 40 or so that congregated in Rosemount Saturday it was the only instrument that mattered that day.

Proudly decked out in t-shirts that stated sentiments like “I have a fever and the only perscription is more handbell” the students spent a day learning from Tim Waugh. Waugh is well known in the handbell world as a composer and conductor.

At the end of the day long festival they shared their newly learned techniques by playing a concert at Rosemount United Methodist Church that took the audience of about 60 around the world and even into outer space through the chimes of a bell choir.

The pieces shared with the audience were practiced and perfected Saturday. In fact the students involved had only a short break at dinner time to eat some well deserved pizza before performing.

And while their time together was short, it didn't show when the group performed.

During the concert Waugh applauded the kids for their hard work throughout the day.

“It's a wonderful thing for me to work with these kids,” said Waugh.

The group performed four pieces including one composed by Waugh called CreationEstere.

Waugh said he wrote the piece as a dedication for a church. While writing the number the Colombia spaceship disaster happened and so Waugh also made the song a memorial for the astronauts who lost their lives.

Earlier this year, Waugh said the song was played on the International Space Station. It was the first handbell music played on the station.

The festival featuring Waugh was sponsored by the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers Area VII. The area encompasses Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Manitoba, Canada.

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