November 17, 2006 - The Department of Music at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro will present the ASU Ringers Christmas concert under the direction of Dr. M. Ellis Julien, professor of music, on Monday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in Fowler Center, Riceland Hall.

Established in 1985, the ASU Ringers is a small ensemble open to members of the student body as well as to members of the faculty and the community. Although most of the students are music majors, several other academic majors are also represented. During the past eleven years, the Ringers have toured throughout the State of Arkansas, and they have presented concerts in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.

This fall, in addition to their annual Christmas Concert in Riceland Hall, the Ringers will be presenting their sixth annual Children’s Concert at 11:00 a.m. on the same day for over 750 school children from Northeast Arkansas. The Ringers have also performed at the Walnut Street Baptist Church in Jonesboro and at the First United Methodist Church of West Memphis.

The program features an assortment of Christmas music, including “Earth shall Ring,” arranged by Margaret Tucker; “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming,” arranged by Michael Kastner and Kevin McChesney; “Angels We Have Heard on High,” arranged by Fred Gramann; “Silent Night,” arranged by Karen Roth; “Fum, Fum, Fum,” arranged by Patricia Sanders; “Variations on ‘Greensleeves,’” arranged for bells and solo guitar by Ken Hayes and Frank Buttler; the medieval carol, “Pat-a-Pan,” arranged by Gregory Pysh; “Ding Dong! Merrily on High,” arranged by Cynthia Dobrinski; “Ave Maria,” the Bach/Gounod version arranged by Jane McFadden and sung by Patricia Register to the accompaniment of handchimes; “Meditation on an Old French Carol,” arranged by Derek Hakes; “Bell Carol Fantasy,” an arrangement of the traditional Ukrainian Bell Carol by Arnold Sherman; and “We Wish you a Merry Christmas,” arranged by Cynthia Dobrinski. The choir will be ringing five octaves of Schulmerich handbells and five octaves of Malmark handchimes.

Members of the choir include Andrew Bleignier, Dr. David Gilmore, and Jonathan Monroe, all of Jonesboro; Mylie Brown of Walnut Ridge; Carly Gorman and Thomas Head, both of Little Rock; Jennifer Hall of Tyronza; Ben Light of West Ridge; Justin Register of Huntsville, Ala.; Pat Register of Florence, AL; Nick Robbins of Manila; Tiffany Schmidt of Lakewood, Colo.; Jenny Shell of Evansville, Ind.; and Crystal Stormes of Goobertown.

The concert is free and open to the public. For more details, please call the Department of Music at (870) 972-2094.