Handbell choirs strike a different chord

KAMIAH — The holidays are a bleak time for many people, but music is one of those mystical things that can often soothe broken hearts.

“You know, the holidays fall in the deep, dark of winter and people, if they’re going to have problems with seasonal depression or they’ve lost loved ones, it’s a really hard time for them,” said the Rev. LuAnn Howard, pastor of the Community Presbyterian Church in Kamiah and the Grangeville United Methodist Church.

Howard is the director of a handbell choir that combines both congregations as well as a vocal choir for performances during the holidays. Carrie Bain is the director of the singers. The Valley Singers and Bell Ringers held two concerts in December and will perform a cantata at Eastertime.

Music, Howard said, “brings comfort. It brings joy; it brings people together and so when we have these concerts, often we fill up the church with people who just look forward to what we do each and every year. Because it inspires them and for many it brings tears. And they’re sitting with people who are going through some of the same things they are.”

The Valley Singers and Bell Ringers have been around since 1956 “when a band teacher from Kamiah thought a community choir would be kind of a cool thing to do. And so they started a small group.”

The choirs have been continuous since then, with only short breaks during the 1960s, when they lacked a director, and later during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Howard said musicians from throughout the Clearwater Valley and the Camas Prairie get together once a week to prepare for a concert. Some bell ringers are also in the singers’ choir and their practices can last three to four hours.

The musical pieces range from traditional Christmas hymns and popular music to some cultural favorites from other countries.

The Grangeville Methodist handbell choir started only a couple of years ago.

“They were looking for something to do, so we loaned them our bells and they got really excited about playing the bells, so they bought their own set,” Howard said. “So now we try to combine our two bell choirs as much as we can for our performances.”

Handbells require a level of attentiveness to the other musicians that may surpass instruments in other orchestras. Each player has four to six bells apiece that sound both major and minor notes.

“The thing with bells,” Howard said, “when you’re playing the piano or guitar, you’re playing an entire piece. But when you’re doing bells you’re only playing, maybe, six notes out of the entire piece. So you really have to listen to what other people are playing and know what your part is.

“Someone said, you know, in choirs you’ve always got the divas who like to be the star of the show. But with bells you can’t have a diva. Everybody’s got the same amount that they have to play and nobody can be more important than another.

“It really is true,” she said. “It’s just a different way of making music.”

Howard said the choirs will likely begin practicing for the Easter cantata sometime in January. The performance is scheduled to be held at the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood. The groups had scheduled a Christmas concert there in December but it was canceled because of inclement weather.

The Easter program, as well as the Christmas ones, is aimed at bringing a wealth of entertainment to the listeners.

“It’s a way of sharing our sadness,” Howard said of music, “but it’s also a way of sharing our hope and our joy. And the message that we present with the cantatas and the bells is that there is good news that a light is coming into our darkness to bring us joy and to bring peace. And so that’s what we hope to get across.”

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.