The Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir is the internationally acclaimed community handbell choir from

Fort Worth, TX Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accordin ...

. Founded in 1964 to be a part of the annual Christmas play-pageant The Littlest Wiseman, the choir has evolved into a musical organization. The Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir has performed for royalty and diplomats, as well as elderly and underprivileged citizens throughout the world. The choir has made several recordings and recorded with groups including the Gregg Smith Singers and the

Texas Boys Choir The Texas Boys Choir is a mixed-voice boychoir located in Fort Worth, Texas. Since its founding in 1946 by George Washington Bragg, the Texas Boys Choir has grown from a mere twenty-six voices to a choral program consisting of close to eighty b ...

. It has performed at varied locations such as schools, retirement centers, local festivals, churches, The

Bass Performance Hall The Bass Performance Hall (also known as Bass Hall) is a performing arts venue, located in Fort Worth, Texas. Overview The hall was first suggested by pianist Van Cliburn to philanthropist Nancy Lee Bass and her husband, Perry Richardson Bass.S ...

with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra,

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops, the Vatican for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, and Carols by Candlelight in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

attended by 30,000 people. The Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir performs a wide-ranging repertoire—from classical to contemporary. Their music varies from the early 16th century "

Change Ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

" to the familiar samba "Brazil". The choir's repertoire is specifically arranged and written for them by their Producing Director Jack Noble White. The Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir is unique in several ways. They do not perform with sheet music and/or a conductor, all of the music is performed solely from memory. They do not wear gloves, each member is expected to take impeccable care of their bells. They also do not use tables to rest their bells on while performing, as the tables can disrupt the musical performance. The Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir performs with approximately thirty members from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. All members are students. They rehearse for two and a half hours six times a month during the regular school year. The Senior Choir is the performing group. They are mirrored by the Junior Choir which undergoes extensive training while waiting for promotion. The Preparatory Choir is the entry level training group, which accepts approximately 5-10 members each semester.

External links

The Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Dorothy, Bell Choir Bell ringing organizations American choirs Musical groups established in 1964 1964 establishments in Texas Handbell ringers