Cristiana Lamberti, a member of the Royal Ringers at the Marlboro Memorial Middle School, stows away a set of bronze bells after the group’s first practice session of the 2007-08 school year. MARLBORO – Room 162 of the Marlboro Memorial Middle School was filled with music on the morning of Sept. 11 as students who are participating in the 2007-08 Royal Ringers handbell choir had their first practice.
Music teacher Ryan Guth, who is the director of the Royal Ringers, said a new three-octave set of Malmark bronze English handbells had recently arrived at the school. The set, valued at about $9,000, joins the sets of Malmark choirchimes that arrived at the school last year.
Guth said after the chimes became a hit at the school Principal Joanmarie Penney suggested that bells be added to the program.
Malmark is one of two companies in the United States to produce these handbells, according to Guth. He said a former professor of his at the Westminster Choir College, Princeton, is a sales representative for Malmark. The decision was made to use the “Give-a-Bell” campaign and in May a fundraiser was launched.
Teachers, administrators, parents, PTA members, the Marlboro Improvement and Cultural Fund and other organizations helped to fund the “Give-a-Bell” project.
Those who helped were asked to choose a pitch they wanted to purchase and the handle would be engraved with a message of their choice.
Most of the bells recognize leaders in Marlboro’s school community including Penney, Superintendent of Schools David Abbott and Assistant Superintendent Marc Gaswirth. Also inscribed are students’ names, the pillars of the Community of Caring initiative and memorials for deceased family members.
Guth said it took about a month to raise the money for the bells. They arrived at the school on Aug. 31.
The morning of Sept. 11 was the first time the members of the Royal Ringers played their new instruments. As the school bell rang to signify a class change the students rushed into the room and gazed at the shiny bronze bells upon the table.
“Are we going to play today?” and “Can we touch them?” were among the hundreds of questions asked of Guth when all 11 of the excited eighthgraders were present.
The group consists of 10 girls and one boy. To be a part of the Royal Ringers performing with the handbells, students must be in eighth grade and have been involved with the music department in some capacity (either choir or band). After auditions, the 11 students were selected.
Guth asked the students to put on their gloves before their eager hands could touch the bells; he asked the girls to remove their long necklaces so as not to scratch the bronze; and he asked them to be careful with the instruments, explaining that the bells range in price from $165 to $335.
Michael Drake, who was holding the largest of the bells, the C sharp bell, exclaimed, “So that means I have the most responsibility?”
The group members took their places at the long table as the teacher instructed them on how to hold the bells. Guth instructed the students to keep the marking on the handle toward their body and to hold the bell upright like an ice cream cone.
Guth demonstrated for the students how to dampen, or stop, the bell by bringing it into their chest. He reminded them to attack all their notes.
“The bells have two pitches,” Guth said, “a primary and an overtone.”
He explained that dampening the bell stops the overtone and he told the students to make certain the bells fully touched their chest in order to stop the reverberations. Guth said this action is as important, if not more so, than ringing the bell.
During the demonstration Guth showed the students that the flick of the wrist is done at the bottom of the arching motion, but that the bell must always be kept upright.
Finally it was time to play and students Danielle Galante and Cristiana Lamberti declared that this was the most exciting part.
Although there were some mistakes, one would not guess that this was the students’ first time playing the bells as the notes rang out.
As the first song ended the students all shouted and begged to play “March of the Times.”
Danielle and Cristiana also asked if they could play “The Hustle” on the bells.
Guth explained that one day last year he entered the classroom and found the students playing and dancing to “The Hustle” on the chimes.
As the class period drew to an end the students took turns putting the bells away. Making use of an extra minute, Danielle and Cristiana did manage to play a bit of “The Hustle.”
Danielle said playing the handbells is something she hopes to keep doing in the future.
The Royal Ringers are in their second year at the Marlboro Memorial Middle School.
“Mr. Guth offered it and I thought it would be fun to try something new,” student Shaina Villalobos said.
The Royal Ringers are members of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR). Guth explained that there are six levels in the ringing based on the number of bell changes and notes. He said the Royal Ringers ring up to a level three.
The chimes that the group worked with last year were purchased with the help of the Marlboro Educational Foundation, which provides grants to teachers to help fund items that are not covered by the school budget.
Seventh-graders will play on the chimes this year as they train for next year when they will be allowed to perform on the bronze bells. The eighthgraders will also use the chimes in certain songs.
Handbells were developed more than 300 years ago as a practice instrument for change ringers (those who ring the tower bells), according to information provided by Guth. For nearly 250 years the bells were grouped in small sets and were used primarily to ring peals and melodies.
It was in the late 1940s that a group of ringers appeared on radio and sparked an interest in handbell ringing across the country. This led to the growth of churches embellishing their worship services with handbells.
The members of the Royal Ringers are Toni Au, Michael Drake, Jessica Fox, Danielle Galante, Cristiana Lamberti, Shaina Villalobos, Jessie Xu and Stephanie Zhu. Three additional members of the group may not have their names published, according to the Marlboro School District
The Royal Ringers of the Marlboro Memorial Middle School will have their first official performance with the new handbells at the school’s fall concert at 7 p.m. on Nov. 28.