Bells ring to mark start of museum season

Posted on April 6, 2009
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Repost from: Fredrick News Post

Link to Article and Photo: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/displayUpdate.htm?storyid=88609

A choir of about 100 handbell ringers brought a pleasant sounding finale to Frederick County’s Bell and History Days weekend.

The weekend helped mark the beginning of the county’s museum season by showcasing more than 30 historic sites and exhibits.

Liz Shatto, a member of the organizing committee, said the bells symbolize the heralding of something great and an important aspect of history.

“It’s exhilirating for the audience,” she said.

The performers from eight different handbell ensembles played to a full crowd Sunday at the Jack B. Kussmaul Theater on the Frederick Community College campus.

Joche Wilmot, director of music and organist at Calvary United Methodist Church, conducted his own ensemble and the entire stage.

“Today we rehearsed together just once,” he said.

Handbell choirs from seven churches and an independent group played the one-hour concert.

Shatto, coordinator of the Frederick Historic Sites Consortium, said the bell theme fit with the focus of this year’s weekend on the southwest portion of the county.

Bells came together with different forms of transportation in that area involving the railroad and the canal.

A large bell was cast in 2006 when the Bell and History Days event was revived after more than 10 years of inactivity. Visitors this weekend had a chance to ring the bell in front of the Key Memorial Chapel at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Visitors to sites participating in the weekend event could have their “passports” stamped. Participants were eligible for a prize drawing.

“It’s been what we needed to give that extra punch to opening the museum season,” Shatto said.

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