Members

Director: David M. Harris
David M. Harris has been the director of The Raleigh Ringers since January 1990, when he was instrumental in the formation of the group. He was previously director of the handbell program at Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church and has studied conducting privately with Dr. William A. Payn of Bucknell University. David studied music while earning a degree in computer science at the Pennsylvania State University; he is a manager in software development. He has served the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR) as North Carolina State Chairman and as Area III Treasurer. David led a national committee that planned the very first handbell event designed for Community/Professional Handbell Choirs, Pinnacle 2000, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is also in increasing demand as a clinician and guest director. After growing up in the Northeast, David moved to Raleigh with his wife, Kristina. Dave and Kris have three children: Daniel, Kate, and Jennifer.

Assistant Director: Kryn Krautheim
A performing member of the group for six years, Kryn is in his fourth season with The Raleigh Ringers as Assistant Music Director. He directed youth and adult handbell choirs at churches in Chapel Hill and Raleigh for more than ten years, and has also performed with many different vocal ensembles around the Triangle. While earning degrees in Mathematics and Biostatistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kryn padded his GPA by performing in as many different musical ensembles as possible. Born in Ohio, but raised in Beaufort, North Carolina, he is now employed as a statistician at the National Center for Health Statistics. Kryn lives in Morrisville with his psychotic cat, Lexie.

Honorary Associate Director: Fred Gramann
Fred Gramann, Director of Music at The American Church in Paris, France, serves as the Honorary Associate Director of The Raleigh Ringers. Fred is a well-known and highly regarded composer and arranger of handbell music.

Artistic Consultant: Dr. William A. Payn
Dr. William Payn of Bucknell University is Artistic Consultant of The Raleigh Ringers. Dr. Payn is a very well-known composer and conductor of both handbell music and choral music and is currently the Director of Choral Studies at Bucknell.

Members:

Bob Auchter was born and raised in Massachusetts, but Tar-heel bred by his North Carolina relatives. He took piano lessons as a child, played tuba in high school, and rang in church bell choirs for many years before joining The Raleigh Ringers. In addition to enjoying family time with his wife Cathy and the kids, Bob enjoys skiing (on water or snow, whichever is available!) and SCUBA diving.

Ruth Brown, holds a Bachelor of Arts in music theory from the University of Texas in Dallas, and has continued post graduate studies in flute performance and pedagogy at Meredith College. In addition to teaching flute, recorder and piano privately, Ruth performs with the Triangle Recorder Consort and is the Director of Handbell Choirs at Church of the Nativityin Raleigh. She has performed on the Concerts at St. Stephen’s Series, the Spirituality in the Arts Series and with the Raleigh Symphony as a winner of the Meredith College Concerto Competition. Ruth lives in Raleigh with her husband, David, and daughters Michelle and Licia.

Keith Burt was born in New Jersey, but really doesn't remember it since he lived most of his life in Florida. He got drafted into handbells by a former piano teacher with the words many ringers know, "Just try it for one rehearsal!" and has been playing ever since. Keith studied piano at the University of Central Florida and was involved with handbell choirs along the way, either playing or directing. He currently works at Blockbuster and formerly also worked at Barnes & Noble, so when he's not working or playing bells, he's watching movies or reading.

Dawn Edwards was born and raised in the Washington, DC area. She started playing piano at the age of six and joined her church handbell choir at the age of 13. She also plays the clarinet, organ and violin. Dawn enjoys spending time with family and friends, sports, the beach, collecting almost anything that is purple, crossword puzzles and baking. Dawn works as an Executive Assistant for a Raleigh accounting firm and resides in Cary with her #1 fan, her 14-year-old Chow/Golden Retriever, Cookie.

Erin Glendening continues the trend of ringers moving to Raleigh to join The Raleigh Ringers. She comes to us from Pella, Iowa via Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Erin followed in her siblings' footsteps and began ringing bells at age 12 at her church in Iowa. The pursuit of a Masters Degree took Erin to Pittsburgh, where she spent the last 8 years directing an intergenerational handbell choir and a children's chime choir at Shadyside Presbyterian Church, while also ringing with the Chapel Bells at Mt Lebanon United Methodist Church. Erin enjoys solo ringing, cross-stitching, knitting, crocheting, reading and watching movies.

Amy Harris returns to The Raleigh Ringers after taking a few years off to do some much desired traveling. Born in Virginia and raised in the DC area, Amy began ringing at age 9 and has been ringing in some capacity ever since. Her other current musical pursuit is playing flute in her church's contemporary band. Amy is also a sports enthusiast; she is a Washington Redskins fan by birth, a Penn State fan by marriage, and a Carolina Hurricanes fan becuase ...well...they are the best! Amy works as a Director of Human Resources for a company in Durham. When not working, cheering on her teams, or ringing, she enjoys spending time with her husband Scott and their two wonderful Golden Retrievers, Bailey and Cooper.

Sandra Hopson, Treasurer of The Raleigh Ringers, was born in Illinois and grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. She began ringing at the age of 10 and performed with the Carol and Wesleyan Ringers of St. Matthews United Methodist Church, Annandale, Virginia, directed by Nancy Cappel. Sandy and her husband James are the parents of two young daughters, Emily and Megan. A charter member of The Raleigh Ringers, Sandy is currently applying four-in-hand and Shelley techniques to hand tools as she finishes the upstairs of her house.

Paula Joyner (aka "Hattie") returns to The Raleigh Ringers for a 10th season after a two-year hiatus, due to the realization that is was "just in her blood". She claims to have missed hanging out with a great group of people, but we bet she actually was getting lazy from not having to put in the hard work being a member of the group requires. Being one of the few members actually from the Raleigh area produces certain challenges of its own, not only with fellow ringers but on tours to northern states. Hattie often visits her two grown sons, who are enjoying their respective lives at Optometry school in Memphis and working as a Landscape Architect in New York City. When not ringing or working at her paying job, Hattie enjoys taking really long hikes, playing tennis, bike riding, yoga, and most any other form of physical activity.

Blake Long returns to the group after a year's break, when he attempted many new things such as coaching his son's T-ball team and starting a children's chime choir at church. He claims a 50% success rate on his new ventures. Blake is a research scientist at a pharmaceutical company in Clayton, where he also lives with his wonderful wife Melissa, their five and two year old sons, Spencer and Tyler, and a 100-pound Labrador, Max. Blake wants to thank his family for their continued support while he indulges himself in this activity. When not ringing, working, or being Dad, Blake can usually be found attempting to complete the Hard setting on Guitar Hero 3 or slaying dragons in World of Warcraft. Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start!

Barbara Marley, aka "Babs", returns after a taking a year off: this is her seventh year in the group out of the past thirteen. An avid Michigan State fan, she suggested our concert attire be changed to green and white, but Dave (Penn State) refused the conversion and considered giving her a penalty. She does, however, drive a green van, spending much of her time ferrying her two teen-agers, Paige and Grant, to school, their various activities, and church. The kids are musical, both at school and church, where they are following in mom's footsteps by ringing, while hubby Robin admits he loves to listen to music but can't play a note! Barbara thanks her family for being so supportive to her bell-ringing addiction.

Cindy Massey, President, charter member, and *still* matriarch of The Raleigh Ringers, hails from Binghamton, New York, but has called Raleigh home long enough to earn the title "Nearly Native.” Apart from an early virtuosity at the Fisher-Price Xylophone, Cindy feels that having learned for nearly 20 years under the baton of David Harris is 'nuff said in the musical experience department. Now that daughter Megg is in LA, son Joey is at NCSU, and her pediatric dental office job is a thing of the past, Cindy can dedicate her free time to shopping, sewing, reading and helping Gentleman Farmer husband Phil around the house by learning to operate his five tractors and tending to their Guinea Hens.

David Metz never had a chance. His mother got a set of Whitechapel handbells when he wa 6 years old, and he has been ringing ever since. In fact, most of his family reunions center around a bell performance with his sister and brother who also ring. He really likes playing the extremely heavy bass bells because they usually play on the beat. David is a computer engineer with an electric metering company and enjoys spending time with his wife, Angie, and playing with his three kids, Kevin, Meredith and Christopher.

Lisa Phillips was introduced to handbells at age 11 and, other than that mysterious time during college, she's been a "bell hog" ever since. Lisa is a recent transplant from Colorado, where she rang with the Bells of the Rockies, directed handbells at her church, performed as a solo ringer, and rang at just about every opportunity! Ringing handbells has given Lisa the opportunity to travel around the world. She has attended festivals and conferences in South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and all across the continental United States. Occasionally, she shows up at events unexpectedly! Lisa loves to introduce new ringers to the art of handbells, and has taught a variety of classes at local events. When not ringing, Lisa "brings home the bacon" by pretending to be an accountant.

Andy Punch comes to us from Hickory, North Carolina, where he began ringing at church at the age of 12. He has played with the Tintinnabulators and the Queen City Ringers and directed several church handbell choirs. He is also a solo ringer; his numerous performances include one at The American Church in Paris. Andy works as a fiber optic cable process development engineer. In addition to handbells, he can play piano and trombone, and he enjoys putting into practice his expertise at sound recording.

Nancy Ritter, Managing Director of The Raleigh Ringers, was born near Chicago and lived in California, New York, Rhode Island, Indiana, Colorado and Florida before moving to Raleigh to join The Raleigh Ringers. Now in her 10th year with The Raleigh Ringers, Nancy began ringing at age 8 in her church, and since that time has performed with numerous groups, including the Purdue University Bell Choir, Orlando's Magic of Bronze community group, a professional four-in-hand ensemble, and as a solo ringer. Nancy also directed adult and children's handbell choirs for 15 years before moving to Raleigh. When able to get away from the business work of The Raleigh Ringers, Nancy enjoys supporting the activities of her two teen-age sons, playing flute and traveling. Special thanks go to husband Fritz for his many, MANY years of support of her handbell activities.

Diane vanDijk is a native of Burgaw, North Carolina, but has lived in the Triangle most of her life. A child caretaker by trade, Diane has been ringing since she was a teenager at Trinity United Methodist Church in Durham. Diane, her husband Stef, her sons Eric and Bryan, along with a menagerie of animals (including a bearded Dragon) currently live in Chapel Hill, and are all big Carolina Hurricane fans. This is Diane's first year performing with The Raleigh Ringers and she looks forward to a lot of new experiences with the group.

Ann Lowe Vodicka, Music Librarian for The Raleigh Ringers, is now in her 11th year with the group. An aficionado of all things bovine, Ann Lowe has a large collection of cow-related paraphernalia, including her prized possession: a set of 40 different Holstein-styled mousepads from Gateway Computers. A resident of Raleigh her entire life, Ann Lowe and her four children enjoy re-creating scenes from The Sound of Music each year at their Christmas Open House, with Ann Lowe playing the role of Mother Superior. After a brief career as a wig model, Ann Lowe studied nursing and now works part-time as a "secret" shopper for a major intimate apparels clothing chain.

Audrey Yosai is a transplant from Salina, Kansas, now on year two of her adventure. She graduated from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas with dual degrees in Music Education and Music Performance (Oboe). Audrey got back into handbells in college, after a taste of them in 5th & 6th grade, and rang for three years in the Bethany College Handbell Ensemble before becoming its director. She also directed the youth bell choir at her church and rang in as many other church bell choirs as possible. Here in Raleigh, Audrey keeps busy with her jobs as a Middle School Band Director and teaching Corporate and Community classes for the American Red Cross, in addition to occasionally subbing at one of the local pre-schools. And, of course, ringing bells !

Former Raleigh Ringers

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