About

The West Midland Sunday Five-Octave Workshop, often known as West Midland Bell Ensemble, was set up in 2003 in response to members of the Region who wanted to participate in five-octave playing.  The David Williams Memorial Workshop, first established in 1997, gave people a once-a-year opportunity to play large-scale music.  The Sunday five-octave workshop provided a more frequent opportunity to do so.

The ensemble meets once a month, usually on the first Sunday, at Lower Broadheath Memorial Hall, near Worcester, from 10.30 to 4.00.  The current repertoire covers early classical to modern, written and arranged by leading arrangers in the handbell playing world.

The group uses the Sampson Bells, a five-octave set, owned by the Region, supplemented by an additional set, loaned each month, by Border Bells.  Use is also made of two sets of hand chimes.

Chair: Richard Hartnell

Richard has been playing handbells for over forty years.  He was first introduced to the instrument through his involvement with church bell ringing whilst living in Somerset.

During his teaching career he set up Wood Green High School Handbell Ringers, a highly accomplished teenage group from Wednesbury.  They had successful tours of Germany, Switzerland and the US as well as producing a number of recordings of their repertoire.

In 2003, he set up the Region’s Sunday five-octave workshop, following the success of its David Williams Memorial Workshop series.  He was also instrumental in bringing internationally renowned handbell directors Brad Morris, Karen Lakey-Buckwalter, Christine Anderson and Michael Helman to the UK to work with the Region and with HRGB nationally.  Such engagements gave handbell players the opportunity to work with the best in their field as well as offering a wider perspective on the world of handbell playing.

Teaching mathematics, his interest in music lies with the baroque period.  He loves the music of J. S. Bach and strives to play a few of his easier preludes and fugues. 

Handbell playing faces a difficult future.  This is a time to adapt and he feels strongly that this is the only way that it will flourish in the future.

Secretary: Margaret Moss

Margaret is a retired schoolteacher, having taught in a Birmingham Junior school for many years where music was her post of responsibility. She became interested in handbell ringing through Kingsbury Church back in the early 1980s and rang with Kingsbury Church’s five-octave handbell team under the leadership of the late Gordon Lane for many, many years. It was with Gordon she later learnt to play four-in-hand using number notation.  She has since learnt to play four-in-hand using staff notation.

In 2003 Margaret joined the region’s Sunday five-octave workshop (sometimes known as the West Midland Bell Ensemble) and continues to enjoy playing with its members.

Margaret has been a committee member since the late 1980s and last year volunteered (in the absence of a secretary), to assist with secretarial work and was given access to and trained on the use of the National database – a computer system which assists with the circulation of correspondence, amongst other stored data.

Margaret also served as one of the region’s representatives on the NEC for a good many years.

Treasurer: David Hampson

David has known of Handbell ringing for many years through Kingsbury Church. Although not a ringer, his interest grew when he became friends and later a couple with Margaret Moss. He became a committee member in 2014 and was appointed Treasurer of West Midland Region in 2016. David was also Chair from March 2023 – March 2024.

His other interests are Rugby Union Football, books and travel.