Choir offers handbell concert in East Dundee

The Concert Handbells and Spirit Bells of Concordia University Irvine, Calif., under the direction of Herbert Geisler and Nancy Jessup, will be performing a free concert at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 310 Main St. in East Dundee.

The Concordia Handbell Ensembles will be performing throughout the Chicago and Milwaukee areas from Feb. 22 to March 1. A full itinerary can be found by visiting at www.cui.edu/handbells.

The 25 ringers are selected from Concordia's four handbell ensembles that involve as many as 50 students a year. They have enjoyed high acclaim in 33 states and provinces as well as in 10 nations of Europe and the Far East. This will be their fifth tour to the Midwest.

Their repertoire offers a broad variety of musical styles and techniques appealing to all ages and tastes including original compositions and sacred and secular arrangements such as Hart Morris's "Let the Amen Sound!" Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride," Karg-Elert's "Praise the Lord with Drums and Cymbals," Fred Gramann's "Pat-a-Pan," William Payn's "Passages," and Andrew Duncan's original "Tin-Tin-a-Rhumba," "Toy Story Too" by Tim Waugh, "Dancing Raindrops" by Patricia Thomson, among others.

The "Concert" and "Spirit" Handbell Ensembles also will perform at an all-school assembly at 2 p.m. and night of music as these college students will be performing a wide variety of classic and novel handbell pieces. The concerts are free, though there will be a freewill offering to help with their travel expenses.