Embellish History

History

Embellish was founded in the fall of 1995 to be a professional level group that promotes the art of handbell ringing by providing a high quality musical experience for diverse audiences.

Embellish, under the direction of Stephanie Wiltse since 1998, has performed at the Directors Seminar in Saginaw, MI (2002), Pinnacle in Addison, TX (2004), the movie premier of The Polar Express in Grand Rapids, MI (2004), AGEHR National Festival Conference in Dayton, OH (2006) and the AGEHR Area I Conference in Orono, Maine (2009). Embellish has also

maintained a busy tour schedule including several mid-west tours, an international tour to France, a week-long tour to the East Coast as well as several shorter tours throughout Michigan.

Embellish also has a rich history of providing outstanding handbell music for the West Michigan community. The annual Embellish and Friends performances have brought a wide

Polar Express Premier- Nov. 2004

AGEHR National Festival Conference- Dayton, OH June 2006

array of fantastic musical guests to share the stage with Embellish such as Rich Ridenour (piano), Christina Fong (Grand Rapids Symphony violinist), Calvin College Women’s Chorale (Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, conductor), and Brian Morris (guitar). Embellish has also collaborated with groups such as The Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys, the Chamber Choir of Grand Rapids, the East Grand Rapids High School Madrigals,

and the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band. Embellish’s semi-annual "Tune-up" workshops offer training for handbell ringers in treble and bass ringing technique, conducting, handbell maintenance, repertoire selection, as well as many other topics. Since 2006 Embellish has collaborated with the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum to present “Ringlets,” a special concert designed for young children. Embellish has released two recordings – The Colors of Bronze (2001) and Embellish the Season (2005).

Embellish’s family is continuing to grow with the addition of two additional ensembles. Campana, introduced in 2007 and directed by Stephanie Wiltse, offers the opportunity for area ringers to challenge their ringing skills with a short-term commitment and relaxed environment. Bellistic!, introduced in 2009, is an auditioned ensemble for students in grades 8-12 and is directed by Kurt Stroh.

Embellish & Fred Gramann
Tour to France, June 2006

Embellish Alumni 1994-2005

The 2004-2005 season marked the 10th anniversary for Embellish. To celebrate this milestone, alumni ringers from all 10 seasons were invited to participate in a reunion concert. As you can see from the photo, many alumni returned to ring in this great event held in February of 2005.

We hope that Embellish will celebrate many more years ringing in this community.

Season Photos
(click on the photos below for a listing of members for that season)


1995-1996		1996-1997

1997-1998		1998-1999

1999-2000		2000-2001

2001-2002		2002-2003

2003-2004		2004-2005

2005-2006 (click here to view the 2005-06 concert schedule and photos)		2006-2007 (click here to view the 2006-07 concert schedule and photos)

2007-2008 (click here to view the 2007-08 concert schedule and photos)		2008-2009 (click here to view the 2008-09 concert schedule and photos)

2009-2010 (click here to view the 2009-10 concert schedule and photos)

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