The Ringers of Bryn Mawr

About Us The Ringers of Bryn Mawr is an auditioned ensemble based in the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church of Bryn Mawr PA. As part of the Fine Arts program of BMPC, the Ringers constantly strive for excellence in their musical art and to act as a role model and teacher for other handbell groups in the area. The Ringers also benefit from a close relationship with Malmark Inc. The Ringers play on ten octaves of Malmark handbells (two five-octave sets), plus three-and-a-quarter octaves of Malmark Choirchimes®.

People

• Rae Ann Anderson, our Fearless Leader, is a native of Ohio, and has received music degrees from Wittenberg University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In addition to her duties as Associate Director of Music at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian, she is also a faculty member of the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia.
• Carolyn Biles has been with the Ringers for about a year now. Not only has she been ringing just about forever, but she also has a minivan, making her de facto equipment manager. She moved to the area after retiring from a career as a chemist in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
• Ruth Bullwinkle is one of the group's new acquisitions this year. A native of the area, she is flexible enough to play in almost any position.
• Cory Curtis is in her third year of ringing at Bryn Mawr. She enjoys her job as an analytical chemist at Merck and recently has had international travel opportunities that wreak havoc with her performance availability. Her free time outside Ringers and work is spent reading, travelling and socializing with her human and feline friends.
• Rob Emblidge joined the Ringers last year. He is a chemist at Sunoco Oil and has recently moved to the area from Bay City, Michigan, where he had been directing and ringing for four years. A current major project is finalizing the move of his family to the Philly area.
• Meg Greenslade began graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania in Environmental Chemistry this year. A native of Phoenix AZ, she has been ringing for quite some time.
• Laura Howson hails from Madison, New Jersey. An avid musician, she sings in an Eastern European folk choir in addition to ringing for her 14th year. After graduating from Haverford College in May of 1999, she has been working at Merck as a biochemist.
• Ashley Johnson is one of two ringers who have moved up from Bryn Mawr's youth handbell choir to the Ringers this year. A freshman, she is very active in music and the performing arts in her school.
• Paul Kingsbury, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, has been ringing for longer than he likes to contemplate. Late each summer he is a fixture in "The Pit" at Bayview. He is a graduate student in linguistics and computer science at the University of Pennsylvania. He also teaches linguistics at Rutgers University. The very idea of "free time" makes him break into maniacal laughter.
• Diana Levine is a senior chemistry major at Bryn Mawr College. She comes from Bethlehem, PA, and is remarkably reticent to share personal information.
• Alys Lindholm is a sophomore at Bryn Mawr College. Hailing from Fergus Falls, Minnesota, she is said to "respect" chemistry, and claims to cut her own hair. She loves ringing because of the trust the ringers must have for each other in order to make a piece truly work. Anyway, it's cheaper than therapy.
• Annalisa Mariani is probably the most resourceful addition to Ringers this year. After graduating from Westminster Choir College a couple years ago she has worked as a district sales representative at Malmark Inc. In this role, she is constantly being asked questions like, "Anna, do you think we could borrow a couple bells for the next couple weeks?"
• Polly Mygatt is the other of the two high schoolers in Ringers this year. A sophomore, she's a real glutton for punishment, having volunteered to take on one of the challenging four-in-hand positions for the spring season. Her presence in the choir depresses Paul and Laura a bit, since they remember teaching Polly how to ring not so many years ago.
• John Richardson is one of two new acquisitions to the Ringers this year. A graduate of the Curtis Institute in Organ Performance, he also works at Bryn Mawr Pres as office assistant to Rae Ann. A true rebel, he has no connection to chemistry whatsoever.
• Linda Volkovitsch graduated from Haverford College in 1986. While she did not major in chemistry, she did take classes in it. She has been ringing for 26 years, and has participated in numerous festivals including Masterringers and Bayview. She directs the Glockenchor handbell choir at BMPC (3-4-5th graders), and her 6-year-old son Michael is the unofficial mascot of the Ringers.
• Nancy Wolcott joined the Ringers four years ago after moving to the area from Chicago. She is an Executive Vice-President of Asset Management and Trusts at PNC Bank and is deeply devoted to her family. Although she won't confess to it, we suspect she took a class in chemistry at some point.

We are also blessed with a fine group of substitute ringers, who would probably be full-time members of the Ringers if only they had a better chemistry background. They include Linda Butz, Sue Gibbons, Sandy Martin, Brian Middleton, and Delaine Terpening.

Current Repertoire

• Amen, traditional arr Hart Morris
• Ballade, Arnold B. Sherman
• Los Campanas de la Navidad, traditional arr Hart Morris
• Carillon for Advent, Dean Wagner
• Celebrate!, Hart Morris
• Elegy, William A. Payn
• Fanfare and Procession, Kevin L. Shull
• Feliz Navidad, traditional arr Hart Morris
• Festival Sanctus, Cathy Moklebust
• Gethsemane, Nancy Hascall
• Hava Nageela, traditional arr Douglas Floyd Smith
• Hope Eternal, Cynthia Dobrinski
• In the Bleak Midwinter, Gustav Holst arr Karen Buckwalter
• Infant Holy, Infant Lowly, W Zlobie Lezy arr Cynthia Dobrinski
• It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, Richard S. Willis arr Katherine Jordahl Larson
• Jingle Bells, traditional arr Cynthia Dobrinski
• The Journey, Arnold B. Sherman
• Joyous Spirit, Paul A. McKlveen
• The King of Glory, traditional arr Jeffrey Honoré
• Nocturne in C Minor, Cynthia Dobrinski
• O Holy Night, arr Donald E. Allured
• Prelude on Herzliebster Jesu, arr Fred Gramann
• Prisms, William A. Payn
• Reverberations, Sallie Lloyd
• Rhosymedre, JD Edwards/Ralph Vaughn Williams, arr Douglas E. Wagner
• Soliloquy for Bells, Karen Lakey Buckwalter
• Spirit in the Wind, Lee J. Afdahl
• Spirit Wind, John T. Bartsch Jr.
• Stille Nacht, Franz Grüber arr Betty Garee
• Three Impressions on "This is My Father's World", arr. Carl Wiltse
• Valse les Adieux (Remembrance), Karen Lakey Buckwalter

Performances in 1999-2000