SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 8, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The Bells at Temple Square will celebrate the start of this year’s holidays with concerts on Nov. 18 and 19.
The “Visions of the Season” handbell program will be presented at 7:30 p.m. local time each day in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. The program will also be streamed on the choir’s YouTube channel on Friday, Nov. 18.
“With the Bells, it is not just about playing the notes,” said Teresa Winder, one of the charter members of the Bells at Temple Square. “It’s a visual art.”
Each year, the Bells at Temple Square’s concert tickets have gone quickly to a very appreciative audience.
The concert will be led by LeAnna Willmore, conductor of the Bells at Temple Square, with the assistance of Geoff Anderson, associate conductor. The concert will feature the talented versatility of the 33-member handbell choir playing on two sets of English handbells (one with seven octaves and one with six and a half octaves) and two six-octave sets of hand chimes.
Program
The evening features Beethoven’s “Hymn to Joy” and the American folk songs “Shenandoah” and “This Is My Country.” They will be followed by Christmas favorites “Christmas is Coming,” “Carol of the Birds,” “Joy to the World,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “O Holy Night,” and “We Three Kings.” The concert finishes with “The Man with the Bag” and “Wizards in Winter.”
As with past Bells at Temple Square concerts, the handbell numbers will be interspersed with performances by members of the Orchestra at Temple Square and organ solos provided by Temple Square organists Linda Margetts and Joseph Peeples.
Tickets
Tickets for the concert are free but required, and usually go quickly. Each patron may request four tickets, and admission is open to those 8 years of age and older. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Patrons may request tickets online for Friday, Nov. 18, or Saturday, Nov. 19.
Access to the Tabernacle on Temple Square will be through the west gates. Check the map here for access and parking locations.
This concert will be streamed on The Tabernacle Choir’s website on Friday, Nov. 18, at tabchoir.org and on the choir’s YouTube channel. It will also be available for on-demand viewing at the end of the concert on the choir’s YouTube channel and in website’s “Watch and Listen” section.
‘Bells’ background
The Bells at Temple Square have been performing with The Tabernacle Choir and in separate concerts since it was organized in 2005. The Bells at Temple Square handbell ensemble includes 33 volunteer musicians drawn from within 100 miles of Temple Square.
Like the members of The Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, and Chorale at Temple Square, all the bell ringers are volunteer musicians. In addition to its anticipated twice-yearly concerts, the Bells often take part in the choir’s weekly “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast and play a special role in the choir’s annual Christmas concerts.
