Westminster Concert Handbell Choirs Gillian Erlenborn, conductor Claire Fritz, graduate assistant Tyler Miller, graduate assistant
Saturday, November 22, at 4 p.m. Gill Memorial Chapel – Rider University 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, NJ
Sunday, November 23, at 4 p.m. Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville 2688 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrence Township, NJ
Saturday, December 6, at 7:30 p.m. First Presbyterian Church of Freehold 118 W Main Street, Freehold, NJ
Please note the unauthorized use of any recording device, either audio or video is prohibited by law. Out of courtesy to the performers and everyone in the audience, please refrain from using cell phones and electronic devices.
Program Pat-a-Pan
Traditional French Carol Arr. Gregory M. Pysh
In the Bleak Midwinter
Gustav Holst Arr. Karen Lakey Buckwalter
Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella
Traditional French Carol Arr. Joel Raney and Arnold B. Sherman
Gaudete!
Traditional Carol Arr. Michael J. Glasgow
Stille Nacht
Franz Gruber Arr. James E. Weber, Jr.
Sing We Now of Christmas
Traditional French Carol Arr. Kevin McChesney – INTERMISSION –
In Dulci Jubilo
Traditional Carol Arr. John A. Behnke
He is Born
Traditional French Carol Arr. Arnold B. Sherman Westminster Concert Handbell Choir II Tyler Miller, conductor
Largo from Winter
Antonio Vivaldi Arr. Martha Lynn Thompson Westminster Concert Handbell Choir II Claire Fritz, conductor
Hyfrydol Alexa Farrah, soloist Jiayun Gao, piano A Charlie Brown Christmas Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Joy!
Rowland Prichard Arr. Larry Sue
Vince Guaraldi Arr. Kevin McChesney Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane Arr. Douglas E. Wagner George Frederic Handel Arr. CJ Caminiti
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Have yourself a merry little Christmas Let your heart be light From now on our troubles will be out of sight Have yourself a merry little Christmas Make the Yuletide gay From now on our troubles will be miles away Here we are as in olden days Happy golden days of yore Faithful friends who are dear to us Gather near to us once more Through the years we all will be together If the fates allow Hang a shining star upon the highest bough And have yourself a merry little Christmas now
About the Artists WESTMINSTER CONCERT BELL CHOIR The Westminster Concert Bell Choir is composed of undergraduate and graduate students at Rider University. The ensemble rings under the direction of Gillian Erlenborn. This year marks the 48th year of the handbell curriculum at Westminster Choir College, the first institution in the world to develop such a program. Hailed for its virtuosity, the Westminster Concert Bell Choir uses the largest range of handbells in the world – 8 octaves, from C1 to C9. Many of the bells are made of bronze and range in weight from four ounces to eleven pounds. The Choir also uses the large “Basso Profundo” aluminum-cast bells. The Choir supplements their handbell set with a six-octave set of Malmark Choirchime® instruments from C2 to C8 – the widest range in existence. Frequently traveling across the country for performance tours, the Westminster Concert Bell Choir has visited more than 40 States. Most recently, the ensemble traveled the southeast in January 2024. The Westminster Concert Bell Choir has appeared on Public Television’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and several holiday broadcasts of the Today Show, including one in which NBC television personalities Katie Couric and Willard Scott joined the ensemble. Its holiday performances have been heard annually on National Public Radio’s Performance Today, and it is included on NPR’s Christmas Around The Country II recording. The Choir has performed at Carnegie Hall twice during the Christmas season and was featured on New Jersey Network’s State Of The Arts program. In December 2002, the ensemble joined Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Charlotte Church and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a critically acclaimed 15city tour entitled A Royal Christmas. The Choir also joined singer, Josh Groban, appearing at NBC’s nationally televised Lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The Choir has made eleven recordings: The Pealing Bells, Westminster Concert Bell Choir, Christmas Bells, Westminster Rings!, Praise and Adoration, Christmas at Westminster: The Westminster Concert Bell Choir, By Request, Westminster Concert Bell Choir: 30th Anniversary Collection, A Time To Dance, An English Christmas, Let Freedom Ring! and is featured on the recently released recording An Evening of Readings and Carols (The 30th Anniversary Live Recording).
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WESTMINSTER CONCERT BELL CHOIR I Gillian Erlenborn, conductor Claire Fritz and Tyler Miller, graduate assistant conductors Reese A. Bennett, Frederick, MD Katie Blowitiski, Southampton, PA Xavier Desrosiers, Southampton, PA Alexa Farah, Northvale, NJ Claire Fritz, Elizabethtown, PA Jiayun Gao, Shanghai, China
Benjamin Glick, Lancaster, PA Jessica Koscak, Tamaqua, PA Tyler Miller, Frederick, MD Lena Santore, Buena, NJ Haley Soule, Middleboro, MA Sarah Vawdrey, Riverton, UT
WESTMINSTER CONCERT BELL CHOIR II Gillian Erlenborn, conductor Claire Fritz and Tyler Miller, graduate assistant conductors Reese A. Bennett, Frederick, MD Jeremy Burt, Winfield, NJ Brendan M. Fritz, Elizabethtown, PA Claire Fritz, Elizabethtown, PA Jessica Koscak, Tamaqua, PA Katherine Kovács, Rochester, NY Tyler Miller, Frederick, MD
Mary S. Page-Hoffmann, Boca Raton, FL Nadia Rego, Westfield, NJ Lloyd P. Silikovitz, Randolph, NJ Amy Majewski, Glen Ridge, NJ Franziska C. Meyer, Wilmington, DE
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Senior Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Chair, Department of Performance Studies Director of Choir Studies Director of Performance Management Associate Director of Performance Management Performing Arts Coordinator
Jason Vodicka Margaret Cusack Donald Nally Kristen Rodgers Leandra Acosta Zach Kent
Rider University gratefully acknowledges the generous support of: Michael T. '89 & Susana Santaguida '89 Gummel and Kasey & Billy Ziff for their support of our Rider Friend of the Arts patron program.
About Rider University & Westminster Choir College Located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Rider University is a private co-educational, student-centered university that emphasizes purposeful connections between academic study and real-world learning experience. Rider prepares graduates to thrive professionally, to be lifelong independent learners, and to be responsible citizens who embrace diversity, support the common good, and contribute meaningfully to the changing world in which they live and work. The College of Arts and Sciences is dedicated to educating students for engaged citizenship, career success, and personal growth in a diverse and complex world. The college cultivates intellectual reflection, artistic creativity, and academic maturity by promoting both broad academic inquiry and in-depth disciplinary study, while nurturing effective and ethical applications of transferable critical skills. The College consists of four schools: the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Communication, Media, and Performing Arts, the School of Science, Technology, and Mathematics, and Westminster Choir College. Culturally vibrant and historically rich, Westminster Choir College has a legacy of preparing students for thriving careers as well-rounded performers and musical leaders on concert stages, in schools, universities, and churches, and in professional and community organizations worldwide. Renowned for its tradition of choral excellence, the college is home to internationally recognized ensembles, including the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with virtually all of the major orchestras and conductors of our time. In addition to its choral legacy, Westminster is known as a center for excellence in musical pedagogy and performance.
Upcoming Performances FALL DANCE CONCERT Saturday, November 22, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, November 23, 2 p.m. Yvonne Theater ROMEO AND JULIET Friday, December 5, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 6, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Sunday, December 7, 2 p.m. Bart Luedeke Center Theater AN EVENING OF READINGS AND CAROLS Friday December 12, 8 p.m. Saturday, December 13, 8 p.m. Princeton University Chapel FOR MORE INFORMATION ON UPCOMING PERFORMANCES, SUBSCRIPTION AND PATRON PROGRAM OPTIONS, VISIT RIDER.EDU/ARTS.