SALT LAKE CITY — Every time the Bells on Temple Square performs the frantic, fast-paced “Flight of the Bumblebee,” one ringer on the back row hits the massive bells with a mallet — while wearing a beekeeper’s hat.
“I brought (the hat) to practice one day and (our director) thought that was fun and she let me wear it, and now it’s just developed into a little routine,” said Ferris Derbidge, who has been a member of the group since it was formed. “It’s a lot of fun.”
The choir began performing this piece, written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, in 2011 when LeAnna Willmore became the ensemble’s director. Since then, the song has served as a staple for the choir and its listeners.
“Everybody loves the bumblebee song,” said Warren Worsley, who has been a member of the group since 2012.
With the Bells on Temple Square of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now in its 10th year, the choir’s director and three of its ringers reflect on the ensemble’s musical and spiritual growth throughout the decade.
Playing such a fast and technically challenging piece as “Flight of the Bumblebee” would have been an impossible feat for the bell choir when it first formed a decade ago in 2005.
“When we first started out, those were some challenging years,” Derbidge said. “Many of us didn’t have experience in a big ensemble, and we were even struggling to figure out who played what notes. We had a lot of people who had never even played handbells — I had never played those big bells that we play.”
Before the bell choir was organized, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir would occasionally incorporate handbells in its performances. The choir’s use of the bells was fairly simple, such as ringing the bells and playing chords at the end of a song, Willmore said.
When the Tabernacle Choir received an anonymous donation, Craig Jessop, then- director of the choir, believed purchasing handbells would be a good use of the money, Willmore said.
Jessop collaborated with his friend Tom Waldron, who at the time was a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as well as the bell choir director at Brighton High School.
This led to the purchasing of two six-octave sets of hand chimes, and a seven-octave and 6½-octave set of English handbells. Waldron was soon called to be the director of an official handbell group under the organization of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
One of Waldron’s former high school ringers, Teresa Winder, was a charter member of the Bells on Temple Square. She described it as a wonderful experience to continue playing bells under Waldron’s direction for the choir’s first six years.
“It’s a unique way to make music,” Winder said. “I never thought I would have the opportunity to go back and play bells again (after high school).”
More than 200 people auditioned for the bell choir when it was first organized, said Willmore, who began as associate director for the choir.
After a process of callbacks and eliminations, the 28-member ensemble was formed. A few years ago, Willmore expanded that number to 32 to give substitute ringers the chance to perform.
Thirteen original members remain a part of the bell choir today. One advantage of this is that over time the ringers have been able to grow and develop together as musicians.
“Being a part of the bells has a certain responsibility, and I try to respect that,” Derbidge said. “It’s more about the whole group than it is about any individual. No one has a solo, and no one is really showcased — everyone is. Being part of the bell choir is all about becoming one as a group.”
As the choir members’ unity has grown tighter with each rehearsal and performance, Willmore has been able to select more advanced pieces for the ringers to perform. Such songs include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro,” Reinhold Gliere’s “Russian Sailor Dance” and Felix Mendelssohn’s “Italian Symphony.”
“It’s amazing now, over 10 years, how quickly we pick up music as an ensemble,” Winder said.
Winder recalled how when the group first started, she and other bell ringers would have to work hard to spread the word about the ensemble and its performances. In contrast to that humble beginning, for the past four years the choir has added another concert to its annual holiday performance at the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
“We were turning people away in the November concert, and they were mad,” Willmore said. “They would come from long distances and could not get in. You can’t do that. So we moved it to two nights, and we completely fill both nights.”
As a part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Bells on Temple Square also performs alongside the choir each year for the Christmas concert, which is this weekend, as well as several “Music and the Spoken Word” broadcasts.
“Other than (those performances), we haven’t traveled a lot,” Willmore said. “When we perform, it takes a semi to move us. It’s got to be a big deal for us to go.”
In addition to their development as musicians, Willmore and the bell ringers reflected on their personal spiritual growth.
One of the choir’s favorite traditions is to take time during the rehearsal after a concert for members to share the experiences and reactions of people they invited to the concert.
“We try to share (tickets) with people that we think might not come on their own,” Willmore said.
Winder said that before each concert, she prays to know who to give tickets to because she wants to help people feel something they have never felt before.
“As a musician, I know how much music can touch people in ways that maybe words cannot,” she said. “It’s a unique way to share the gospel, which I absolutely love.”
Worsley joined the group because he was looking for opportunities to serve.
“After my first concert, it just kind of hit home that this is what I needed to be doing,” he said. “The most rewarding thing is hearing about how the music we play has affected somebody’s life in a positive aspect.”
Being a part of the Bells on Temple Square is a primary church calling, Winder said. The bell ringers are dedicated musicians who volunteer their time and talents to spreading the gospel through music.
“We try our hardest to show through our faces our testimony of Jesus Christ,” Derbidge said. “And we try to do that with the music. When it comes across, it’s such a great feeling.”
On one occasion, Winder, who is a marathon runner, was standing in the finisher’s area of a race when someone approached her and asked if she was a bell ringer. Caught off guard, Winder asked him how he knew who she was. His response was simple: “I recognized your smile.”
“With the bells, it’s not just about playing the notes,” Winder said. “It’s a visual art.”
While the performances and interactions with audience members are rewarding, the greatest part of the bell choir is the love the ringers have for each other, Willmore said.
“When the audience comes to the bell concert, I think they feel the spirit the group has,” Willmore said. “They have such a strong spirit as a unit, and there’s so much love emanating from them. You can see it in their faces. And that’s what makes the difference in the performance.”
The Bells on Temple Square will perform alongside the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for the Christmas concert on Friday and Saturday in the Conference Center. Tickets have been distributed, but a standby line will be available. The purpose of their performance, Willmore said, is to “enlighten and bring delight to the audience.”
'Flight of the Bumblebee' Bells on Temple Square
Email: lpeterson@deseretnews.com