Sou’westers: Ringing for Gold

A treat for the eyes and ears! Come and experience the mellow sounds of this concert as some 30 ringers with more than 200 handbells and hand chimes play a programme of popular light music.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the South West Region of the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain (HRGB), there will be ringers from almost every county in the region, from Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and as far away as Oxfordshire.

This diverse group, the ‘Sou’westers’, get together each month in Taunton to play music that their own, smaller, teams are unable to tackle; many of the ringers are themselves conductors or leaders of handbell teams so this is their opportunity to actually play the bells themselves!

Their handbell repertoire is wide and their selection for this concert is likely to include music by varied composers as Henry Mancini, Dmitri Shostakovich and Scott Joplin. Pieces written specially for handbells will contrast with music from the shows and films such as ‘Lord of The Rings’ and ‘Aladdin’ with fun pieces such as the ‘Banana Boat Song’ and many more.