Bells were ringing and Belles were singing us into the 2009 Holiday season!

The theme for our concert on Sunday, December 6, was "bells". Our music library contains a setting of Edgar Allen Poe's The Bells, and it was pure serendipity that two of the songs we found in our search for new music were also about bells - Sleigh Bells and Ding-a-Ding-a-Ding! Old standbys like Silver Bells and the yellowed-with-age copies of Ding Dong! Merrily on High (going for 15 cents a copy when they were new) gave us plenty of pieces around which to build a really fun program.

In addition to the bells, we added some Pine Cones and Holly Berries to the decorations so we could have a Holly Holly Christmas because, as everyone knows, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

The close harmonies and lovely texts of A Winter Walk and A Friend in Winter warms the heart and Santa Baby, Pause for the Claus and Hey, Mr. Santa! brings a smile to every face.

We rounded things off with a gorgeous arrangement of Shalom Chaverim, the ever-popluar Go Tell It On the Mountain, a bouncy rendition of A Marshmallow World, and helped you get ready for holiday shopping with The Christmas Rush!

Our special instrumental guests were Webb of Life. Thank you for joining us for a joyous afternoon of music!