LATEST NEWS Home For The Holidays LoginSubscribe Newsletters Contact HOME NEWS EVENTS COMMUNITY LINKS PHOTOS ARCHIVES PONCA CITY MONTHLY The Chalice Carillon Handbell Choir of First Christian Church Tue, November 23, 2021Laina Smith/Staff Writer Handbell choirs have been around for many years. Some date back as far as the 5th century. Handbells were initially made to take over the art of change, ringing from tower bells in the 16th century. Tower bells were so loud they became disruptive to villages; thus, handbells were made to lessen the noise. In Europe, there were groups known as Carillons. These groups were typically men and would ring large bells by pulling a rope. “Handbells have been around for a long time,” Former director Marta Sullivan said. “ … They had what they call carillons in churches, and they had choirs. Typically they were men because it was hard to ring the bells. The bells were way up in the belfry, and so they pulled these ropes. Then because it was kind of cold in the tower, they developed smaller bells that were pitched the same, and they could go into the pubs and ring their handbells in the pub where it was kind of warm, and they could enjoy a brew or something.” English handbells, the most common handbells used in America, are suspected of being introduced in the 1830s by the Peake Family Ringers and P.T. Barnum in the 1840s. Not long after this, handbell choirs began to show up all over the U.S., including churches. The Chalice Carillon Handbell Choir of First Christian Church in Ponca City was founded in 1983, one of the first handbell choirs in Ponca City. When the choir first started, it was an all-women’s choir. They rang a set of three octave Schulmerich handbells. As of 2021, the handbell choir has had five directors. The handbell choir is now directed by Andrew Orr, who leads the Ponca City High School band. Before him, it was directed by Marta Sullivan, who was also a ringer at one time. “ … I know I started ringing in 1976,” Sullivan said. When Sullivan joined the choir, they were a four-octave group. Sullivan became the choir director in 1992 and, in May of 2021, handed the reins to Orr. The handbell choir performs in the Church at services once a month. The choir also performs monthly, as well as holding benefit concerts occasionally when asked. They have also partnered with other ensembles to put on shows. “We play seasonally,” Orr said. “Just general church year, but then special programs for Advent and Easter, you know that type of thing.” The choir also travels and performs at festivals for handbell choirs. For example, the Renaissance Ringers, the church’s advanced handbell group, goes to the Tulsa Invitational Festival in the spring to ring with 15 other choirs. The Chalice Carillon Handbell Choir also plays a couple of different styles of music. “ … Just your standard Christian,” said Sullivan. “But we do play secular as well, but we play it all on handbells rather than an organ, piano or other instrument.” Every year the choir performs a show at Christmas for the public to view. This year, the show will be held on Dec. 12 at the First Christian Church in Ponca City, Oklahoma, at 7 p.m. The show is free of charge to the public, and all are welcome. The theme for this year’s show is “Stories of Christmas.” As well as the full choir, the Christmas show will feature a solo ringer, Karen Adams, who will also have collaborations with other instrumentalists. In general, people from First Christian Church make up the handbell choir, but anyone can join. “They’re mainly people that are in the congregation,” said Orr. “We do have a few people that will join on special occasions from the community for special events and things like that, but they’re mainly members of First Christian Church.” New members can join at any time. There is no formal tryout process. “They just express an interest,” Orr said. “Some musical background is helpful, but we can take someone who doesn’t have much experience and kind of help them out. We’re always looking for new membership, and they don’t have to be a member here to participate with us. We’d love to see more people get involved.” The Chalice Carillon Handbell Choir of First Christian Church brings something unique to Ponca City not only because of the talent but also because they are one of the only handbell choirs left in the area. “I think it’s the history,” Sullivan said. “We’ve been very consistent in having really good choirs for several years now. It used to be, I would say, maybe 8-10 years ago most churches, the mainline churches, had handbell choirs. Over the last few years, many of them have just lost their membership, and they just don’t have the choirs anymore … We’re one of the few remaining choirs.” Orr agreed. “I think the presentations that they give … as kind of a gift to the community have become long-standing traditions that are important,” he said. Due to COVID-19, details of the Christmas show could change. To stay up to date with information or find more on other concerts, view the choir’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FCCPCHANDBELLS. If you are interested in joining the handbell choir, you can call the church at 580-762-1667 or email connect@fccponcacity.com. 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