>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

PEG BROWN AND JOELLA DEVILLIER ().

By Jeff Petersen

Observer Staff Writer

Peg Brown and Joella DeVillier of the Alleluia Bells will play Handel's Largo in a handbell duet Sunday, accompanied on piano by Connie Ingerson.

DeVillier has been playing bells off and on for many years while Brown is starting her sixth year.

The duo started playing together after they went to a bell conference. In Handel's Largo, the two play 17 bells.

"You have a part to play and you share some of the bells," DeVillier explained. "It's hard keeping it smooth. You've got to watch out for each other. Sometimes we pass bells to each other."

In the Alleluia Bells, most players are responsible for four bells. In Bellagio, a smaller group, they might have up to seven or eight. In a duet, it might twice that many.

Last year in their first duet Brown and DeVillier performed "Swing Low Sweet Chariot."

The two try to practice every week for about 30 minutes; at least. "That's what we shoot for," DeVillier said.

Being part of a duet takes a lot more finessing, DeVillier said. "It's a challenge. It's a lot harder than playing in a big bell choir."

In piano you play all the notes, Brown said. By contrast, in bells "you have to wait for your note to come along to play it to sound fluid. That's the tricky part."

Brown and DeVillier are both in Bellagio. This group, which does shows on its own, was called The Sextet for a while as the ringers went through a long process of trying to find names. Group members even polled other people for suggestions.

"We just liked the way Bellagio sounded," DeVillier said. "It's a town in Italy."

Loosely translated Bellagio means "beautiful place," Brown added.

DeVillier also sings as part of the Grande Ronde Community Chorus and plays flute.

Brown, meantime, plays the piano, sings in church choir and has sung in the community choir in the past.

"We all have long and rich musical backgrounds, which helps," DeVillier said. "If a person doesn't read music, it would be impossible to play bells at an advanced level."

Bellagio handbell ringer Wendy Shrumm teaches two children's group to which DeVillier's children belong. Her sixth grade boy, Johnathon, is not playing in this concert but is a member of Voices in Bronze. Her ninth grade daughter Christina plays in Peal Out!, which has a part in this concert. Both kids play piano and Christina plays clarinet. Kids can start with the bell groups as early as fourth grade.

Bell practice requires discipline. It's a little different than, say, being in an orchestra or a choir.

"If you're in a section of flutes or sopranos and miss a practice, some other person will carry that part along — but not in bells," DeVillier said. "If a bell player isn't there, there's a hole in the music. Every person in bells is critical. It's a good group for kids because it teaches them the importance that each person plays in making a group successful."