Somehow, it’s 2023!
Life seems to be gaining in speed, but Chicago Bronze is moving quickly, as well! We welcomed new member, Barb Piechota to our ringing family this January.
We are looking forward to ‘Boot Camp’ – our day of ringing and fun in March when we gather for a full day of rehearsing in addition to our weekly ‘workouts’.
Our spring concert theme this year is all about time…morning, afternoon and evening as we will ring music that celebrates our days. Highlights include: ‘Morning Has Broken’ arranged by Joel Raney, ‘Morning’ from the Grieg ‘Peer Gynt Suite’, ‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun’ arranged by Andrea Handley, Mozart’s ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’ (A Little Night Music) arranged by Raymond Herbeck, and a new arrangement of ‘O God, Our Help in Ages Past’, emphasizing the texts:
“Time, like an ever-rolling stream bears all its sons away;
they fly forgotten as a dream dies at the opening day
A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone,
short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.”
Spring Concert Schedule
Join us in concert this spring:
Saturday, May 6 at 4:00pm at St Luke’s Lutheran Church in Park Ridge
Sunday, May 7 at 4:00pm at First Congregational Church in West Dundee
Monday, May 15 at 7:00pm at Friendship Village in Schaumburg
Sunday, May 21 at 3:00pm at Madonna della Strada Chapel at Loyola University
Hope to see you all at one of our concerts this spring!
More info: chicagobronze.org/concerts
Membership & Past Season Updates
2022 fall auditions were held and we welcomed our newest member, Jocelyn Purtell. Her ringing expertise and friendly, easy-going personality has been a delightful addition to our Chicago Bronze family.
Our fall season of ringing brought us to The Shrine of All Saints (formerly St. Martha Catholic Church), Friendship Village of Schaumburg, First Congregational Church in West Dundee, and a return to our collaborative concert with West Towns Chorus, in Naperville.
In the spring of 2022, we played a program of dance music in Deerfield and Lombard entitled ‘Shall We Dance’. Then in July, we extended a fond farewell to Bill and Cheryl Ondratschek as they retired after a combined 32 years of ringing with Chicago Bronze. A lively afternoon pool party was held in July to honor our friends, Bill and Cheryl. They were presented with a beautiful plaque to honor their years of ringing.
As we navigated through the Covid lockdown challenges, we were fortunate to bring three new members on board. Meryl Frank, Max Dykla and Matt McLoed have proven to be not only talented, musical ringers, but also willing to step up and do some of the many jobs that keep this organization running smoothy. Unfortunately, Meryl’s tenure with us was short-lived, as she moved in January of 2023 to the east coast to be with her daughter’s family. But fortunately, Max and Matt continue to be valuable and capable members!
The fall of 2021 brought us back together for our first full season of ringing since the pandemic!
We played six concerts in December and celebrated the end of the season with our traditional Christmas party at our director’s home.
In 2021, Chicago Bronze said good-by to two long time members, Jayne Griese and Martha Swanson. Retirement brings new opportunities that Jayne and Martha look forward to eagerly.
At a fun gathering, Martha and Jayne were each presented with a crystal bell in their honor.