Madison Area Concert Handbells

×

Expand

Ashley Crutcher

Members of a handbell choir.

Madison Area Concert Handbells

media release: One of the largest and finest handbell choirs in Wisconsin will take you on a sleigh ride around the world on December 8, 9 and 10. Popular holiday tunes, fresh takes on classics, and a new original will dazzle the senses as you are transported into the holiday season. 

Friday, December 8 – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Verona – 7:00 pm

Saturday, December 9 – Christ Presbyterian Church, Madison – 7:00 pm

Sunday, December 10 – First Congregational United Church of Christ, Madison – 3:00 pm

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.  Tickets can be purchased at madisonhandbells.org.

Madison Area Concert Handbells (MACH) reimagines the capabilities of a handbell choir. Those who have not witnessed the unique level of coordination among 18 auditioned ringers will soon see that, unlike some forms of music, every member is critical to make the music come alive.  It’s a brilliantly-choreographed show for the audience. 

In addition to MACH’s 6 octaves of Malmark handbells, these concerts will feature a variety of other handbells including an antique set of Whitechapel handbells (forged in the same foundry as the Liberty Bell), a rare set of Petit and Fritsen handbells cast to sound like tower bells, and a set of tuned sleigh bells, which are so hard to find that we have rented one of the few sets in the world. Marimba, vocals, and more add to the multitude of surprises making this a unique, rollicking celebration of the season.

Handbells have been synonymous with the holidays in America for decades. The Beacon Hill Ringers were founded in the 1920s, and they were world-renowned for their annual Christmas caroling on Beacon Hill in Boston, Massachusetts. Over 100 years later, there is no better way to ring in the holidays! 

MACH’s music director is Nicholas Bonaccio, a classically trained percussionist and member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with symphonies across the Midwest and as far away as Hawaii, as well as with Broadway Across America’s touring productions at the Overture Center.  His musical interests also extend to rock, where he played with the band Evanescence.

Nick reports, “I’m delighted to guide the audience on a sleigh ride celebrating Christmas musical traditions from across the globe! We will feature Sleigh Rides by Anderson, Prokofiev, and Mozart along with your favorite carols, popular tunes, and sleigh bells on almost every piece!”

MACH has performed at Wisconsin’s Sesquicentennial Celebration, the Monona Terrace Convention Center, the Elvehjem Museum of Art, Olbrich Gardens, Milwaukee’s Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, the Stoughton Opera House, the Gard Theater in Spring Green, the opening of Madison’s Overture Center, the Middleton Performing Arts Center, Sinsinawa Mound, and with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.