Greenwich Handbell Festival Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary To Benefit Seaside Gardens

GREENWICH, CT — The Knollwood Garden Club of Greenwich will sponsor a handbell choir festival titled "Let Freedom Ring! Celebrating America at 250" on Saturday, May 9, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., with a rain date of May 16. A reception will follow the concert.

The benefit concert will support restoration of the historic Seaside Gardens on Greenwich Point. It will feature handbell choirs from Christ Church Greenwich, First Congregational Church of Greenwich, and First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich.

A commissioned work, "Let Freedom Ring!" for handbells, composed by Jonathan Vaughn, will be premiered during the event. Sponsors for the concert are the Bucknall Family Foundation and Eda Peterson and Family.

Tickets are $50, and donations are welcome. Information and reservations are available at www.knollwoodgardenclub.org/events.

The handbell choir directors are Adele Ozanne of Christ Church Greenwich, Craig Symons of First Congregational Church of Greenwich, and Heather Antonissen of First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich. The choirs rehearse weekly throughout the church year and perform regularly at worship services and special events.

In addition to the premiere, the choirs will perform a range of selections, including works by classical composers, as well as folk melodies and hymn tunes arranged for handbells. Performances will include both individual and combined ensembles.

The concert will take place in the Seaside Garden, which is maintained by the Knollwood Garden Club under an arrangement with the town.

The formal walled garden was originally designed at the request of J. Kennedy Tod by Marian Cruger Coffin, a landscape architect known for designing gardens for Greenwich estates in the early 20th century. The site overlooks Long Island Sound.