Handbells Group Ring In Harlem Globetrotters Game

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The Stafford Regional Handbell Society will be performing the national anthem before the Harlem Globetrotters' game on Monday, Dec. 9 at the William M. Anderson Center on the campus of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. The 50-member handbell group will perform courtside under the baton of Global Bronze Production Music Director Neesa Hart, who also serves as the programming director of the Stafford Regional Handbell Society.

The Harlem Globetrotters' show, part of the team's "Pushing the Limits" world tour, starts at 7 p.m. on Monday. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the Harlem Globetrotters' visit to Fredericksburg. Tickets are still available for the show. Global Bronze Productions is a New York City-based concert production company that organizes performances of handbell music and has contracted with the Harlem Globetrotters to ring the national anthem at six of the basketball team's games during this tour.

The Stafford Regional Handbell Society, Fredericksburg's only community handbell organization offering bell ringing opportunities for ringers from grade 2 through adult of all musical skill levels, has won numerous awards and national recognition. In December 2018, the group played the national anthem before a Harlem Globetrotters game at EagleBank Arena on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, according to Hart. The group also performed the national anthem before two Washington Nationals baseball games at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

The holiday season is the busiest time of the year for the group, Neesa said. Earlier this month, the group performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the Great Christmas Ring.