The Ely Presbyterian Church recently received a three-octave set of handbells, a two-octave set of handchimes and four handbell tables, along with a number of mallets, table pads and more from the historic First Presbyterian Church in Hastings, Minnesota — but for free.
The donation allowed Boundary Waters Choral Arts to launch the Ely Community Bell Choir, who took to the stage for the first time last Sunday at the Boundary Waters Choral Arts’ “I Hear America Singing” concert celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.
“It’s almost a magical sound in my mind. It’s just so, so pretty,” said Wendy Norcross, who recently joined the bell choir.
A set of items like these would amount to around $30,000 if purchased new.
Boundary Waters Choral Arts director and artistic director of music at the Ely Presbyterian Church Mike Rouse said the Hastings church had listed the bells for a sale price of $18,000 as it prepared to close its doors.
“That beautiful historic church started saying, you know what, if we’re going to close, these bells were given to us so we need to gift them on,” said Billie Rouse, who helps run the program.
Hastings transplant Robyn Keyport, who moved to Ely in 2022, previously rung for a community handbell group in Red Wing called Bells of the Bluffs. She learned about the Malmark bells through another member of the group.
Corey Larson, pastor of Ely Presbyterian Church, and Mike Rouse began corresponding with the Hastings First Presbyterian Church, explaining Ely’s community and his plans to launch a community handbells group — which ultimately served as the deciding factor for the church to choose Ely out of its final three candidates.
“I think they chose Ely and this Presbyterian church because we consistently do outreach,” Mike Rouse said. “It’s not just inside these walls. The things here are to bring the community together, bring people in.”
The new choir offers the opportunity for bell ringers of all experience levels to practice or learn the instrument, whether they are other transplants with a bell-ringing background or new ringers who now can access the bells for the first time.
The new bells replace the handchimes which previously accompanied Ely Presbyterian Church services. Chimes differ from handbells by their long, rectangular shape.
The Ely Community Bell Choir was not the only new choir on stage last Sunday.
The Unforgettables, a memory-loss-friendly choral group, performed live after gathering for their first practice just five weeks ago.
The group’s model is a welcoming environment where volunteer singers comprise one-third of the chorus and the other two-thirds are individuals with memory loss and their care partners.
“Some choirs are known for their musicality and some choirs are known for their community or their family. I would say this is more community-focused,” Billie Rouse said.
Mike Rouse creates special arrangements for the group that are straightforward to follow. Rouse uses large letters to mark the position within the music and eliminates repeat signs so that performers can sing straight through a piece.
The songs are no less intricate or authentic, even with the alterations. Billie Rouse said the choir aims to maintain musicality while still upholding the philosophy of a failure-free environment filled with humor and community. They align themselves with the motto “there is no wrong in this room.”
“It’s a place of comfort for people,” said Norcross, who paddled in all 50 states to raise money for Alzheimer’s through The Purple Canoe project and now partners with The Unforgettables as the group’s operational manager.
Practice launches with vocal warm-ups and a get-to-know-you icebreaker question, followed by rehearsal interspersed with movement and laughter, and finally social time after practice complete with cookies and coffee.
The choir follows the Minneapolis-based Giving Voice Choral Initiative model, which has been implemented in memory-friendly choirs around the nation.
Mike Rouse said Giving Voice executive director Eyleen Braaten reached out to him with an interest in launching a choir in the Ely area as part of their Giving Voice Rural Initiative.
“I could write a book about all the instances of magic I’ve seen happen (through music),” Mike Rouse said. “So when we were contacted about this, it really sparked our interest.”
The Ely Unforgettables have drawn outstanding numbers of participants right from the get-go. By just their fourth rehearsal, 26 community members had attended a practice, nearly matching Minneapolis’s numbers, whose Giving Voice chorus launched with about 30 participants. In comparison, many other similar choral groups might launch with six to eight vocalists.
“What really made me believe how important these choirs are and realize the value of them was because it becomes a support group in essence. They’re meeting every week, they are coming together joyfully,” Norcross said. “We have a good time.”
The Boundary Waters Choral Arts program also includes the organization’s foundational choir, the Ely Area Community Choir, who performed at last weekend’s “I Hear America Singing” concert along with the Ely Community Bell Choir and The Unforgettables.
Boundary Waters Choral Arts looks forward to the months to come, with plans in the works for a children’s chime choir and preparations for the Unforgettables to star in their own concerts.
“To me, music boils down to two things: joy, but more importantly, communication, being able to communicate emotions and express feelings,” Mike Rouse said. “That’s been a big part of my entire life.”
“There are these moments where you’re performing something and truly just nail it and the hair goes up on the back of the neck,” Mike Rouse said. “We hope the audience is experiencing that same thing.”
