Friday, December 4, 1998
Bells ring in new musical direction
MUSIC: Sonos ensemble
reinvents sound as more than Christmas carols
By Harshan Jeyakumar
Daily Bruin Contributor
Traditional handbell music is not what one should expect from
attending the Sonos Handbell Ensemble’s concert tonight in
Schoenberg Hall.
Although "Little Drummer Boy"-esque clanging has long rung in
the new year, the San Francisco-based Sonos is trying to put a new
spin on the traditional, brassy chimes.
"We want to go further than the usual church standard," Meredith
said. "Our goal is to move handbells into the musical
mainstream."
Created in 1990 by award-winning conductor James Meredith, Sonos
takes handbells away from its traditional church roots into the
musical mainstream. The performance will include a wide variety of
genres, from classical to jazzy. Christmas carols will also be a
part of the repertoire.
Meredith actually began his career in handbells in 1982, as a
church music director. After attending a conference on handbell
music by the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, he decided
to pursue mastery of the instrument.
Meredith retired from church music in 1989, and, the next year,
he joined a community group to play handbells. He consented on the
premise that they would become a professional orchestra; thus began
the Sonos Handbell Ensemble, now regarded as the premier American
ensemble of its kind.
On the way to this title, Sonos has performed at international
events, like the World Ice Skating Championships and the United
Nations 50th Anniversary Celebrations.
They have garnered wide visibility by appearing on major
television and radio broadcasts, including two appearances on
Garrison Keillor’s "A Prairie Home Companion" on National Public
Radio. Recently, Sonos has been asked by Penn and Teller for an
appearance on its show.
"James is very good at making music on the page come alive,"
said Nancy Jessup, a handbell artist who provided one of Meredith’s
first exposures to the instrument at the conference in 1982. "It is
very difficult to do this with handbells; it takes a gifted
director. Plus, he has the best ringers in the U.S. (in the
ensemble), who know intuitively what to do."
A remarkable feature of the ensemble is the diversity of the
origins of its ringers. Sonos is comprised of computer programmers,
animators, nurses, accountants, teachers and others.
"Our most experienced ringer is a lady who works as a probation
officer in a juvenile hall," claimed Meredith.
Accompanying the ringers will be an oboist, a clarinetist,
flutist and violinist.
Before the performance at UCLA, director Meredith will hold a
pre-concert lecture. In this lecture, Meredith will discuss the
history of handbells and demonstrate special techniques, realizing
that some people are not familiar with the instrument.
But, according to Meredith, many of the audience members will be
bell-ringers themselves.
"There are over half a million handbell players in the country;
it is becoming very popular," said Meredith.
UCLA is the first stop on a tour that will take Sonos to
Wisconsin and Minnesota.
"People still consider Christmas and handbells to be synonymous,
so we are busiest during the holiday season. We have 31 concerts
concentrated in the period of September to January," said
Meredith.
Sonos has commanded the respectability of art music composers,
many of whom now write music especially for handbells. Recently,
Sonos was part of the first opera with a handbell segment in the
orchestra. This progression gives Meredith great satisfaction.
"We are trying to give visibility to handbells in the classical
music world, and establish it as a viable musical medium," Meredith
said. "So far we have succeeded in moving up the level of playing
remarkably."
PERFORMANCE: The Sonos Handbell Ensemble appears in Schoenberg
Hall at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $25 for general
admission, half-price for children under 16, and $9 for students
with ID. For more information, call (310) 825-2101.UCLA Center for
the Performing Arts
The Sonos Handbell Ensemble will be ringing in pop songs and
holiday favorites in two performances at Schoenberg Hall on
Saturday.
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