Back Bay Ringers, Boston’s Community Handbell Ensemble, to Present Boston Concert, World Premiere
Posted on April 29, 2009
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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Norah Piehl, Executive Director
Phone: 617-688-5768
Fax: 866-243-9594
E-mail: ncpiehl@backbayringers.org
Back Bay Ringers, Boston’s Community Handbell Ensemble, to Present Boston Concert, World Premiere
(Boston, Mass, April 29, 2009)—The Back Bay Ringers, Boston’s leading community-based handbell organization, is presenting a solo concert in the city of Boston for the first time since 2007. The concert, entitled “Perpetual Motion: Music for Handbells,” will be held at Boston University’s Dance Theater, 915 Commonwealth Ave, at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, June 6, 2009.
This concert commemorates the dynamic ensemble’s fifth season of offering high-quality handbell performances to audiences throughout New England and the Northeast. To mark this anniversary, BBR has commissioned noted composer Cathy Moklebust to compose an original work for handbells and auxiliary percussion. The work, entitled “Prologue and Rhythmic Dance,” will have its world premiere at the concert. The composer, who will be in Boston to lead a day of BBR-sponsored workshops for area musicians, will be the organization’s honored guest at the evening’s festivities.
Artistic Director Griff Gall notes that Ms. Moklebust’s composing style is an ideal match for the Back Bay Ringers’ strengths: “Her rhythmic melodies work well with the energy our ensemble brings to music.” And, Gall adds, Ms. Moklebust’s most recent composition does not disappoint: “It uses several meter changes to provide motion and energy, as well as some new techniques that elicit fresh sounds from our instrument.”
Executive Director Norah Piehl comments on the choice of Boston University’s brand-new 225-seat Dance Theater for the concert: “The audience will have the perfect vantage point to view our entire ensemble. This exciting, unusual space reflects our organization’s unconventional approach—and the Dance Theater is really the perfect venue to premiere a piece called ‘Prologue and Rhythmic Dance.’” In connection with this choice of venue, the concert’s repertoire will include several pieces that celebrate rhythm and motion, as well as many original compositions for the instrument, including Michael Joy’s “Toccata Ritmica,” Karen Buckwalter’s “A Walk in the Park,” and Michael Helman’s “Fantasy #4.”
General-admission tickets for the concert, to be held Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 8:00 p.m., are $15/$5 for students. Tickets may be purchased through the Dance Theater box office at 617-358-2500. For more information, please visit www.backbayringers.org or contact Executive Director, Norah Piehl, at 617-688-5768 or via e-mail at ncpiehl@backbayringers.org.
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