The Raleigh Ringers

News & Observer - Bells will toll, but not for them
Reprinted by permission of The News & Observer of Raleigh, NC
The Raleigh Ringers are moving out of the retirement home
that hosted them

December 14, 2007

RALEIGH - There were no lighters held aloft or hands waving in the air last Thursday night at the Springmoor retirement community, but that doesn't mean the place wasn't rockin'.

On the bill was Springmoor's long-time house band, The Raleigh Ringers, who were playing the first show since they moved into a new practice space in another part of the city.

News & Observer - He brings rock 'n' roll to ringing
Reprinted by permission of The News & Observer of Raleigh, NC
January 21, 2007

RALEIGH - For anyone who thinks the words "cool" and "awesome" shouldn't be applied to hand bells, meet David Harris.

An unapologetic "hand bell fanatic, " Harris, 46, has dedicated the past 17 years to bringing hand bell music to the masses. As music director of the Raleigh Ringers, Harris orchestrates a 17-member hand bell ensemble that has the skill and audacity to cover such rock luminaries as the Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who and Led Zeppelin.

Our State Magazine - Lords of the Ring
December 2005

Dedication, innovation, joy—here are three nouns that can easily be used in the same breath with “Raleigh Ringers.” This unique ensemble of musicians from the Capital City has been in existence since 1990, and their popularity remains on the rise as more and more people discover this music that—it can be truthfully said—certainly rings a bell with audiences.

Reviews

Raleigh Ringers Bring Holiday Cheer at Meymandi
December 15, 2007

This year, the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts hosted the Raleigh Ringers’ holiday performances at Meymandi Concert Hall. These concerts are as secular as a concert full of Christmas carols can be. Mainstream signifiers of the season are pillars of red and green lights, poinsettias galore, and a stunted tree brought onstage during two Vince Guaraldi pieces from A Charlie Brown Christmas. But the group’s showmanship and impeccable performance standards mark what is for some a sacred occasion with consummate respect. Add to that the Raleigh Ringers’ trademark musical inventiveness and sense of humor and you’ve got a great entertainment choice for anyone planning Christmastime activities.

The Raleigh Ringers
June 9, 2007

"Just suppose for a moment that your exposure to handbell ringing has been limited to performances by ad hoc groups of eight to ten amateur ringers doing arrangements of carols, hymns and a few other familiar pieces. If such were the case, you would have been ill-prepared for the opening of the eighteenth Summer Concert Series by The Raleigh Ringers.

Raleigh Ringers Holiday Concert
December 2, 2006

The big-time ringing event if any concert by The Raleigh Ringers.

Grand Rapids Press
June 25, 2005

An impressive 361 bells graced the stage Thursday night in St. Cecelia Music Society’s Royce Auditorium, and it’s likely the hall is still ringing from the music as well as the cheers of a happy audience.

News & Observer
June 15, 2005

Anyone with a limited view of handbells has never heard 14 ringers let loose with Boots' Randolph's "Yakety Sax." And certainly not in the same concert with the finale to Stravinsky's "Firebird."

A remarkable encounter of the Ringers and Director Harris with Hal H. Hopson resulted, some time ago, in the prominent composer's personal interest in the Raleigh Ringers...

"Tradition," for better or worse - and cash cows? For dance companies, it's Nutcracker . For the Raleigh Little Theatre, it's Cinderella...

Highlights for me of the Raleigh Ringers' June 14 Meymandi Concert Hall program, directed by David M. Harris, were the suspenseful hushes during...

From humble beginnings twelve years ago at Peace College, where there were apparently about as many people in the hall as there were on the stage...

In spite of its gimmicky title, this is a serious release of some most interesting music in generally fine performances...

Ok, it's confession time. A decade or so ago, when I first heard about a then-new professional handbell ensemble, based in the Triangle, I was skeptical...