Strikepoint, one of the world’s top handbell ensembles, will be performing at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 15 at Christ United Methodist Church, 8645 E. Brainerd Road. There is no admission charge, but a freewill offering will be taken. The concert is part of the ensemble’s 2015 summer tour, which includes a performance at Walt Disney World.
Since 1986, annual summer tours have taken Strikepoint to England, Scotland, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Hawaii and throughout the mainland U.S. The 11-member ensemble, based at First United Methodist Church in Duluth, is unique among touring handbell groups as a combination church/community and youth/adult group, as well as one of the few that rings without a conductor out front.
Bill Alexander, a nationally known handbell clinician and conductor, is the leader of the ensemble.
"Strikepoint is noted for capturing the enthusiasm of audiences with its dynamic style and accessible music," officials said. The concert program includes music written for bells as well as favorites such as the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” and Glenn Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade.” Reviews of Strikepoint concerts praise their “athleticism and showmanship, not to mention musicality” with an “exceptionally creative bent.”
Strikepoint concerts are designed to delight listeners, whether they know all or nothing about handbells. Among the comments most frequently heard after concerts, a favorite is, “If we’d known it was going to be this good, we would have made all our friends come.”