Give a hand to the bell choir

Once a week, members of the Old Millstream Ringers meet at St. Paul's United Methodist Church to practice the musical art of playing handbells and handchimes. "The trick with bells is you aren't playing everything like a piano player does," said Gail Malloy, who has served as director of the community-based English bell choir since 2018. "You play your bells within the phrase, so you have to be able to count and know when to play your pitches." The empty sanctuary is soon filled with the happy, tinkling sounds of "When You Wish Upon a Star" from the Disney classic "Pinocchio." Malloy has learned a lot about handbells over the years. A retired general music teacher from McComb Local Schools, she originally played in St. Paul's handbell choir that was directed by Martha Avery, founder of the Old Millstream Ringers. "She asked me to be in it, and I said, 'I'm not good enough for that group,'" Malloy recalled, laughing. "And she says, 'Oh yeah you are.'" The Ringers will present a concert of magical Disney music at 4 p.m. May 14 at Trinity Baptist Church, 7839 County Road 236. The ensemble previously presented a Disney concert in 2014 that was well received, according to Malloy. "The bell ringers have always really enjoyed doing the music, too, and they kind of requested to do a Disney concert again," she said. The concert was planned for May 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic put the performance on hold. So Malloy hung onto the music, and folded in some more current Disney selections, too. Tunes from "Moana," "Frozen" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" will be included in the 14-song program. Music will also be accompanied by an animated video from the different songs. The concert is free, and donations will be accepted. The nonprofit organization was founded in 2000 by Avery — a retired music educator and veteran handbell director — to give local musicians an opportunity to grow, learn and promote the art of handbell ringing. The Ringers perform a wide variety of sacred, secular and seasonal music. Originally from Ohio, Avery earned a music degree from Bluffton University (formerly Bluffton College). She became a handbell director while living in Michigan. "When I came back to Findlay, I had seen so many great community choirs in Michigan. I thought, 'I really want to start a community choir'. But of course, you have to have bells to do that," she said. Then one day while looking through a magazine, Avery saw a five-octave bell set advertised for sale. "So just jokingly, I said to my husband, 'Oh, gee, here's a five-octave set of bells for sale. You could buy me those for my birthday.' Well, long story short, he bought me the bells. So I had no choice but to start a group then, did I?" she said. She put notices in the newspaper and at her home church, Powell Memorial United Methodist Church, about starting a handbell choir. About 40 people auditioned and she chose 13 — the number needed to play a five-octave bell set. "That was in 2000, and we're still going in 2022," she said. The first concert was held in December 2000 at First Christian Church. Avery has a group picture of the original members. J.R. Smith is the only one who is currently active in the group. When Avery was hired as the organist at St. Paul's, she asked about starting a bell choir. "They had handbells that had been put away because they didn't have a director," she said. "So I asked the pastor if I could start the bell choir here at the church, and I did. And then from there I asked if we could bring the Old Millstream Ringers here." The 13 members and substitutes volunteer their time with the group. They spend practices standing behind two long rows of tables with the shiny brass bells arranged in front of them — smaller, higher sounding bells all the way up to large, deep sounding ones. Gloves are worn to prevent oils from tarnishing the instruments. Malloy said a ringer has to be able to read music to play the bells. Ringer Jeanne McCaffrey said she plays piano but found playing the handbells difficult at first. "You have to focus just on a portion of the music," she explained. She recruited Peggy Grandbois for the choir. Grandbois recalled that she "went home in tears" after her first practice session. "That's why subbing is a good way to find out if you're going to like this or not and if it's going to work for you or not," said Malloy. Avery asked Malloy to serve as co-director in 2012 and then take over full time in 2018. Avery still serves as the organist at St. Paul's and fills in as a substitute ringer when needed.