Thirty plus years ago at Christ Church, Irvin Rubincam and Music Director Emeritus Marvin Munshaw had the clever idea to add English Hand Bells to the Music Ministry of our Church. Beginning with a “Sponsor A Bell” campaign, the Church was able to purchase a three-octave set of Schulmerich Hand Bells.
Learning to ring was a steep learning curve for those stalwart volunteer musicians who came to rehearsals week after week. The challenge of Hand Bells is the fact that each ringer is responsible for 4-6 different pitches (notes). Watching the music with an eagle eye is key because without that, your note or two could have come and gone and if you miss your spot, since you are the only person responsible for those pitches...you’ve left a hole in the music and your time has passed!
With time and experience, the ensemble improved under Irvin’s direction. The Bell Choir played on special occasions such as the Advent and Lenten Seasons. Eventually, we needed to grow the number of bells and a second “Sponsor A Bell” Campaign was able to add another octave and a half of bells. The Choir “took the show on the Road” over time and visited other churches when invited. We even rang on the stage at the Living Arts Centre for the kick off of the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign in 2010. At that point, we had 14 ringers.
Over the past 20 years, we have participated in the OGEHR (Ontario Guild of English Hand Bell Ringers) biannual Festival. Choirs from all over Ontario gather to ring “en mass” under guest conductors, sometimes as many as 300+ ringers. It is a weekend of fun and learning and great music.
When Catherine and Irvin Rubincam moved from Port Credit to Victoria BC in 2015, Joan Cobbold took over the direction role of the Ensemble. Soon after that, we renamed our Ensemble BELL CANTO. The musical term Bel Canto is Italian for beautiful singing or beautiful sound. As with so many things, COVID took its toll, although for almost two years, we created recordings in an empty Sanctuary, socially distanced from one another, often with piano accompaniment. Our recordings joined our Virtual Services. Since COVID, we have evolved into a sextet ensemble with piano accompaniment. In 2024, we added a piece of equipment called a Bell Tree which allows for the bells to be hung vertically and played with mallets like a glockenspiel.