Three Rivers Ringers

We are Pittsburgh's Premier Handbell Ensemble, promoting the art of handbell ringing through performance at the highest artistic level and educational programs. Pittsburgh's premier community handbell ensemble. www.threeriversringers.org Three Rivers Ringers (TRR) is dedicated to advancing the art of handbell ringing through educational programming and performance at the highest artistic level. TRR presents 10-12 performances each concert season, split between a winter series and a spring series. Performances are spread throughout western Pennsylvania at churches, retirement facilities, or private parties. Each performance serves to enlighten our audiences about the art of handbell ringing in a concert setting. Selections on the concert program are introduced to the audience, highlighting musical aspects of interest or special techniques that the musicians will utilize during the piece. Following every concert, TRR invites the audience up to the stage for an interactive session with the ringers and the ensemble's equipment. Audience members can literally get their hands on the bells and chimes and experience what it is like to be a handbell musician, as well as meet the musicians of the ensemble. Each TRR concert features music written, arranged or transcribed for handbells and handchimes. As an advanced handbell ensemble, Three Rivers Rivers concerts feature technically and musically difficult repertoire, challenging the abilities of the ensemble. Every musician also plays with, or directs, at least one other handbell ensemble; as a result, each musician's "home" ensemble grows musically, improving the overall handbell community. TRR concerts also feature music specifically written for the ensemble, thus contributing to the development of handbell repertoire. As most handbell ensembles exist as a component of church sponsored music programs, most handbell repertoire is of a sacred nature. As an independent organization, TRR performances introduce audiences to secular handbell repertoire, an opportunity otherwise not found in the Pittsburgh area. Three Rivers Ringers also manages the Western Pennsylvania Handbell Festival (WPA), an all-day educational event bringing together up to 190 musicians from throughout the area. Attendees participate in massed rehearsals and a public concert under the direction of a guest conductor. Participants also take classes on ringing skills and musicality taught by TRR members at the event.