WPA Festival Deadline Extended – Plus a new video!

Western Pennsylvania Handbell Festival

Early Bird Deadline Extended to February 15

Calling all choirs! We are extremely fortunate to have world-renowned handbell composer and clinician Fred Gramann leading this year’s Western Pennsylvania Handbell Festival on April 9th. The WPA Festival is a beginning-level handbell event for handbell choirs (Level 1-2 music) that is co-sponsored by Three Rivers Ringers and the Robert Morris University Band Program.

This is a unique opportunity you will not want to miss. Fred Gramann has written some of the most memorable handbell pieces we have ever played. An extraordinary talent who studied with such luminaries as Marie-Claire Alain and Maurice Duruflé, he has been the Director of Music at the American Church in Paris for the last 40 years. We’re thrilled that he is crossing the Atlantic and will be working with all the handbell musicians at the WPA Festival!

New this year: Consider preparing our challenge piece to help stretch your ringers’ skills!

Register today! We have extended the Early Bird Deadline to Monday, February 15. Sign your choir up by that date registration is only $85 for the whole ensemble – a savings of 15%! Or individuals without a choir may register for only $15. Download the Registration Packet here or visit threeriversringers.org/wpa/ for more details.

2016 Western PA Handbell Festival
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Yorktown Hall
Robert Morris University
Moon Township, PA

Thank  You

No matter how you look at it, 2015 was a huge year for Three Rivers Ringers. We appeared (and played our music) in a scene with Diane Keaton and John Goodman in the movie “Love the Coopers.” We recorded “Jubilate,” a CD of the original handbell compositions of Stanley Leonard, emeritus principal timpanist of the Pittsburgh Symphony. We commissioned our first new composition. And we capped off the year with seven incredible performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at the Holiday Pops at Heinz Hall, which was a dream come true.

We can’t say this enough: we could not have done any of these things without the encouragement and support of our fans and donors. We love performing, honing our craft, and bringing the art of handbell playing to new heights.

On that note, here’s our finale from our Winter Concert Series, featuring the unexpected but perfect combination of a beloved spiritual with the memorable music of Sergei Prokofiev: Go, Tell It on the Mountain Medley for handbells and organ. Thank you so much for making it all possible. Here’s to a successful 2016, from us to you!