While St. Rose Bell Choir members have been ringing their collective bells for audiences for less than a year now, the 15-member ensemble has a thorough understanding of what it takes to succeed as musicians.

In addition to honing a talent for gracefully wielding bells that weigh up to three pounds apiece, the students from St. Rose School in Roseville have discovered every ringer is vital to music making.

“They have learned that if each individual doesn’t learn the music, the whole song will fall apart,” said Mindy Hatzmann, co-director of the bell choir. “They understand that they all need to be here to make it work.”

Comprised of fourth through eighth grade students, the bell choir began practicing and performing primarily sacred music during the 2003-2004 school year.

The bell choir’s founder and co-director Cyndie Whitefoot said she was inspired to start the music group after hearing a performance by the St. James School bell choir in Davis.

“I had no experience with bell choir music, but I knew it as a beautiful sound and just wanted to be able to hear it,” said Whitefoot, who launched the program as an elective.

“We had a small set of 10 bells and did some very simple, very basic things.”

Then she met Hatzmann, also a member of St. Rose Parish, and the bell choir took on a whole new direction.

Born with music in her soul, Hatzmann was literally raised playing the piano and organ. By the time she was in fifth grade, the pastor of her parish in Wichita, KS, offered Hatzmann organ lessons if she would play for Masses every weekend.

A few years later when enrolled at the Kansas State University as a music major, she went on tours with the college choir.

For Hatzmann, the fact that the bell choir plays primarily sacred music opens another educational opportunity.

“At Easter when we do ‘Christ Has Risen Today,’ part of the learning is actually understanding what this song means,” she said. “It is not separate from Catholic education; it is very much enhancing it.”

Kristin Knotts, who will enter seventh grade at St. Rose School this fall, joined the bell choir when it was first offered as an elective more than 18 months ago. She said people who think being a bell ringer is easy should try it, just once.

“It takes a certain technique,” said Knotts, who explained that the challenge of learning to read music and developing bell ringing technique was what attracted her to the choir in the first place.

This past year the bell choir performed at the children’s Mass and a Christmas program at St. Rose Church, entertained a parish senior ministry event, and was featured at the St. Rose School musical review and eighth grade graduation.

Cindy Rafeld, whose son Brendan, 12, is a member of the bell choir, said her son sees practices and performances as opportunities to be with friends and classmates and do something else he discovered he truly enjoys.

“He likes to perform,” she said, adding with justifiable pride, “and audiences think the choir is just great.”

Hatzmann said parents and parishioners have provided tremendous support for the bell choir, which has been invited by the director of liturgy to perform with the adult chorale for the next Christmas concert.

The bell choir, which already has 22 new students signed up for the upcoming school year, is taking its music “on the road” and is now scheduling performance venues for a variety of events in the Sacramento area.

For more information about scheduling the bell choir, call Mindy Hatzmann at (916) 791-1600.

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