Sometimes we’re asked which of our pieces for handbell choir is the easiest. Hands down, it’s Celebration. This piece is AGEHR Level 1; for those of you not familiar with what that means, the score has nothing smaller than a quarter note. The piece itself is composed of big block chords; if you’re ringing it, you’ll know instantly whether everyone is in sync.There’s only one position that has what’s called a “bell change”, so you can assign that to your most daring ringer if you wish.
I wrote Celebration for the bell choir I directed at my son’s school. We borrowed three octaves of bells from HMA (Handbell Musicians of America) via their CHIME (Chimes and Handbells In Music Education) program. Since we had no actual budget, I wrote easy pieces for them to play. Celebration was one of them.
Celebration has been available from Choraegus for some years, and during that time it’s proven to be a versatile year-round piece. One of my friends even says that when she’s down to a group of seven she’s had them play just the treble clef!
If you have a new handbell choir, or you need to pick a piece that will come together quickly, or if you just want your ringers to try something sight-readable, Celebration should work well for you!
