Little Drummer Boy

The Little Drummer Boy, originally known as The Carol of the Drum, is adapted from a Chech melody, but was first created in the form we know it today by Katherine K Davis in 1941. It has been recorded by a wide variety of artists since then, from the Von Trapp Family Singers (of "Sound of Music" fame) to Alicia Keys. One recording featured the classic duet of Bing Crosby and David Bowie. Our arrangement comes from another amazing performance group: Campanile. This Los Angeles-based sextet pushed the boundaries of what it meant play handbells, incorporating rhythm instruments and dance into their Jazz performances. Chicago Bronze may not be dancing while we play this piece, but we'll definitely be having fun.

Christmas in October

We started working on our December concert this past week, so now we're all whistling Christmas and holiday music as we walk down the street, even though it's only October. Never fear, the stores will be catching up to us soon.

Our concert schedule is now available, and we hope you'll find a concert near you this December.

Back from Break with a Recording

Chicago Bronze has returned from Summer break! And we wasted no time in getting going.

Chicago Bronze performs the catalog recordings for GIA Music's handbell publications, but we were asked this year if we could also help out with some choral pieces as well. Four new pieces from GIA are written for choir and bells.

It was a privilege, as well as fun, working with William Chin, Assistant Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. He is also the founder and artistic director of The Oriana Singers. In his spare time, he is the music director for the First United Church of Oak Park, the Oak Park and River Forest Children’s Chorus, the Oak Park and River Forest Symphony Chorus, and the Anshe Emet Synagogue Choir.

Space was a little tight - we could barely see over the piano - but we got some great music recorded that night.

Peoria Rings My Bells

We didn't go as a full group, but some of Chicago Bronze went to the Area VIII regional festival in Peoria, IL. The festival had 500 ringers from 5 states. We even made front-page news.

The festival was a lot of fun. We met a lot of people, and we played some great music. Any ringers that have never been to a festival should definitely attend - it's an experience you'll never forget.

Listen Online!

It's true that we don't have any handbell music live on chicagobronze.com.
But the fine folks at Jeffers Handbell Supply post up an audio file with new releases, which come from the publisher's demo CD.
Since Chicago Bronze records the demo CDs for GIA, you can hear our GIA recordings online!
Take a look at the GIA 2007 Handbell Catalog and click on any of the yellow logos to hear the song, performed by Chicago Bronze.

The Post-season

You'd think we'd take a break after the Cutting Hall concert, but we were right back at rehearsal on Monday, getting ready some of the latest publications from GIA for recording next month.

At our business meeting, we debated adopting a slogan, "Most of the Notes, Most of the Time," but the motion was rejected. OK, we didn't really debate it, but it was suggested.
If you've got a suggestion for a slogan or tag line (a good one or even an unusable one), let us know by posting a comment here on the blog!

Thanks to everyone who came to the Cutting Hall concert. Special thanks to our volunteers who welcomed people while we were hiding backstage.
It's been a great Spring season. We really enjoyed the music in this year's program, and we hope you enjoyed it as well.

Time to Record

Next week we'll be taking some of the songs from this season's Storm Warning concert and recording them to be included on a CD in the future.

Many people have asked when our next CD will be ready. Here's how we do it. Thanks to former CB ringer Karen Baumann for sharing this idea with us.

Each season, December and Spring, we schedule a recording session. We can record 4 or 5 songs in an evening, so we pick the songs we think would work best on a CD.
Our target is to get 16 songs on a CD, so it can take 4 seasons to build up enough tracks to publish a CD.
We worked extra hard to finally get Christmas in the City out. Next year, we'll finish the new CD of Spring-season titles from the past 4 years. Two years later, we should have another Christmas CD, and so on every 2 years.

Huge thanks to everyone who bought a CD. We're looking forward to the release of the next one in time for December 2009. It's going to have a really wide variety of music and will showcase how versatile handbells can be.
What do you think we should call the CD next year? Post back with your ideas!