Join us to (literally) ring in the winter season!  

“Bell by Bell” is a fun Make Music Winter tradition designed to transform first time participants and non-musicians into Music Makers, and is the perfect program for kids and families. Reserve your hand bell and your spot in this popular program by filling out the form below:

Meet us at Astor Place Plaza at 5:45pm, at the crossroad of the East and West Villages, where we will distribute to revelers color-coded bells that play different notes and give an introductory crash course in hand bell playing basics. Then, our team of conductors will wave matching color-coded flags, prompting you and your fellow participants to collectively contribute to commissioned hand bell compositions that intensify as the group learns to play together. 

We are proud to announce that this season features the world premiere of a new hand bell score, Gradient by Nat Evans. Gradient is part of a series of pieces relating to coyotes —meditations on their adaptations and perseverance in natural settings, but in urban settings like New York too. Their inherent trickster nature mirrors the chaotic, nonlinear nature of our own consciousness - at times mundane, and at other times wild - and this piece shares elements of both sides of that coin. 
 
Nat Evans is an artist and composer based in Seattle and Philadelphia. His interdisciplinary work focuses on ecology and meditations on everyday life, and is regularly presented across the United States and internationally.

Bell by Bell is co-presented with the Village Alliance, the neighborhood’s Business Improvement District. The Village Alliance works for the people and places of the Village to support community and business vitality.