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.

2009 Members:

Joel Adams is new to The Raleigh Ringers this year. Originally from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Joel moved to the Triangle after being accepted into the doctoral program in nursing at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Joel began ringing handbells in 1987 while a student at the University of Southern Mississippi, as a member of "Carillon" under the direction of Dr. Larry Smith. Since that time, Joel has rung in handbell choirs in Hattiesburg and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Joel is the father of three sons - Cameron, Ethan and Jaron - who live in the Gatlinburg, Tennessee area. During breaks from school, Joel enjoys spending time with his sons and visiting family in Texas. He hopes to finish his PhD in December 2010 and remain in the Triangle area following graduation.

Jerri Bland recently returned to the Triangle area from Northern Virginia. When she takes time off from being an alum and staff member at University of North Carolina, Jerri enjoys reading, shopping for the best deals, listening to music and making jewelry. She has played in multiple choirs and performed as a soloist in her eleven year handbell career. In the relative safety of her living room, she also plays the piano and harp (and will play the organ - if the church sanctuary is empty!). Jerri looks forward to her first year as a member of The Raleigh Ringers.

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 is the Director of Handbell Choirs at Church of the Nativity in Raleigh. She has performed with the Triangle Recorder Consort, 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. They have two 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 Martin Architecture and fills his spare time with his two great loves, movies and heavy metal.

Erin Glendening, Secretary of The Raleigh Ringers, continued 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 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.

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 teen daughters, Emily and Megan. Sandy is a charter member of The Raleigh Ringers.

Lauren Jones comes to the Triangle area from Albemarle, North Carolina, and has been ringing since she was old enough to be in a bell choir. While in high school, Lauren was involved in bells any way she knew how. After seeing The Raleigh Ringers in concert, she vowed that she, too, would one day be a member. Surprised at how early she accomplished this life goal, Lauren is very excited to be along for the ride! Now in her final year as a student at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lauren will be graduating in May with a degree in Art History and a minor in Theatrical Production. When not ringing handbells, Lauren can be found pursuing her other passion, theater. Or more specifically, lighting design. Her other ways of passing the time include discovering new music, knitting, crocheting and playing video games.

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 two 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 riding around on his 1996 750cc Honda Magna.

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.” An early virtuosity at the Fisher-Price Xylophone and subsequent lifelong love of music led her to this wild adventure called The Raleigh Ringers, a dream from which she never wants to awaken! Now that daughter Megg is in LA and son Joey is at NCSU, Cindy can embrace an empty-nester existence, complete with a quilt-shop job (and its inherent addiction to fat quarters!), helping gentleman farmer husband Phil with his tractors and pecan orchard, and tending to the family Guinea Hen.

Noah Melton is delighted to be a member of The Raleigh Ringers after just six years of ringing. His interest in handbells blossomed shortly after enrolling at Pfeiffer University to study music. Participation in the university Handbell Ensemble led to a conductorship position in the community choir, The Ringing Chimes. He soon found himself playing with First Presbyterian Church's handbell choir in Albemarle, North Carolina, and teaching handbells at North Stanly High School as a student teacher. After graduating in 2008 with a B.A. in Music Education and Christian Education, Noah's fascination with handbell music continues to intensify now that he is in The Raleigh Ringers!

Lisa Phillips picked up her first handbell sometime around age 11, and just like her favorite purple polka dot high-top shoes, it simply seemed a perfect fit. Lisa recently transplanted to Raleigh from Denver, 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! Lisa received her higher education at the University of Northern Colorado, remains a teacher at heart, and loves to introduce new ringers to the art of ringing musically. When not ringing, Lisa has a "real job" in the accounting department at a local software company.

Andy Punch comes to us from Hickory, North Carolina, where he began ringing at church at the age of 12. An alumnus of Raleigh's Tintinnabulators and Charlotte's Queen City Ringers, he recently began directing the handbell choirs at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Cary, NC. Andy's solo ringing experience includes performing during a service at The American Church in Paris, and playing the theme to the Japanese cooking show "Iron Chef" as a wedding recessional. Once considered imaginery by one member of The Raleigh Ringers (who would actually drive for 3 hours just to record a handbell choir?), his other hobby, making audio recordings of music and sound effects in up to 5.1 channels, explains a lot. In addition to handbells, Andy enjoys playing piano and trombone when away from work at a local fiber optic cable company.

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 11th 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 the supporting the activities of her two teen-age sons, along with playing flute and traveling - a recent vacation to Hawaii marked the 50th state she has travelled to! 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.

Ann Lowe Vodicka, Music Librarian for The Raleigh Ringers, is now in her 13th year with the group. Proficient at random ringing, Ann Lowe An aficionado of all things bovine. She 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 four of her adventure. She graduated from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas with dual degrees in Music Education and Music Performance (Oboe). Audrey started ringing again in college 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. In Raleigh, Audrey keeps busy teaching Corporate and Community classes for the American Red Cross, and working towards her Master of Music in Music Education. And of course, ringing bells!

Former Raleigh Ringers

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