Bells of the Cascades, Inc. is a nonprofit community
handbell choir from the
greater
Portland area in
Oregon. From its beginning, in
1990, Bells of the
Cascades' (BOC) mission has been to promote the art of
handbell ringing through
performance and education. To that end, BOC has dedicated
itself to providing
workshop
opportunities for handbell ringers and directors. Concerts are often
connected with workshops, or given separately in
locations throughout
Oregon
and
Washington. In addition, every other year, BOC holds its
workshops on
cruise
ships. BOC has taken several such cruises and the
next bell cruise is
scheduled
for January 2009. BOC was originally organized in 1990
by a group of directors and advanced
ringers seeking to share their love of handbells and a
more challenging ringing
experience. Richard Coulter was invited to direct,
ringers auditioned, a non-
profit corporation was formed, and the choir was off and running. Pioneers
in the community bell choir movement, BOC has performed
as a featured choir
at the 1993 AGEHR Western National Conference, the 1997
Directors'
Seminar in Spokane, and several Area X Conferences, as
well as numerous
community events throughout Western Oregon and Southern
Washington.
As the group continued to develop a reputation as a
top performing choir, it
quickly began to promote the the art of handbell ringing
through teaching
workshops and conducting music reading sessions for local
ringers. In 1993
BOC organized its first Handbell
Cruise, a floating workshop aboard Holland
America's ms
Westerdam, which sailed through
Alaska's
Inside Passage. Since
then BOC has cruised the Eastern & Western
Caribbean,
Mexican Riviera,
and returned to Alaska, enjoying the company of
ringers from all over
North
America and
Australia.
In the fall of 1997, Nancy Hascall was named
musical director
of BOC following
Dick Coulter's retirement.
Membership continues to be by auditions held throughout the year when
we have
people who have expressed an interest.. In addition, BOC is constantly
looking
for qualified bell
ringers to assist as substitutes in rehearsals (we currently rehearse
on Tuesday night). If
you would like to
be considered
as a substitute or take part
in an audition, please contact BOC.
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