“Ring in the Holidays” with the Bells on Temple Square!
The Bells on Temple Square celebrate the beginning of this year’s holiday season with “Ring in the Holidays,” their semiannual concert, on Friday and Saturday, November 16–17, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. mountain standard time in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square. The concert will also be streamed live at www.thetabernaclechoir.org on both November 17 and 18, at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are free but required for the concerts and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Tuesday, October 30, at 10:00 a.m. mountain daylight time online through lds.org/events or by calling 801-470-0080. Each patron may request four tickets, and admission is open to those eight years and older.
The concerts will be led by LeAnna Willmore, conductor of the Bells on Temple Square, with associate conductor, Geoff Anderson, also directing several numbers performed by the 32-member, all-volunteer ensemble. The bell ensemble use a 7-octave set of English hand bells, a 6½-octave set of hand bells, and two 6-octave sets of hand chimes. Each year, the Bells on Temple Square’s performances are audience favorites.
“It’s is amazing how such beautiful and intricate sounds can be made with 32 talented bell ringers playing 192 bells and 180 chimes of various sizes and pitches. You can’t fully appreciate it unless you see and hear it,” LeAnna Willmore said. “The performances will provide a wonderful evening of entertainment for everyone.”
Both nights will feature music for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The concerts begin with “Ring to the Lord a New Song,” “For the Beauty of the Earth,” and “Holy, Holy, Holy,” followed by traditional Christmas pieces “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly,” “Patapan,” “O Holy Night,” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.” The concert will finish with light-hearted pieces including “Little St. Nick,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” and “Bell Carol Fantasy.”
In keeping with this concert’s tradition, the bell choir numbers will be interspersed with organ solos by Temple Square organists Bonnie Goodliffe and Linda Margetts, as well as pieces by members of the Orchestra at Temple Square.
The Bells on Temple Square have been performing with The Tabernacle Choir and in separate concerts since they were organized in 2005. Part of the Tabernacle Choir organization, the handbell ensemble includes 32 volunteer musicians drawn from a 100-mile radius of Temple Square.
For your enjoyment, watch the videos of some of the recent and audience-favorite Bells videos:
Or check out the entire Bells on Temple Square YouTube playlist.