$125K Grant To Help Rider Establish Space For Bell Choir

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — Rider University has received a $125,000 Presser Foundation capital grant to support the university’s renowned Westminster Concert Bell Choir, the university announced on Wednesday.

The university will use the grant to create a specialized rehearsal space on the first floor of the Fine Arts Center on Rider’s Lawrenceville campus.

The space, named The Presser Foundation Bell Choir Rehearsal Room after the foundation that has made more than $820,000 in contributions to the university since 1953, will accommodate the choir's extensive collection of handbells and Malmark Choirchime instruments.

“For 67 years the Presser Foundation has touched and enhanced Westminster’s music programs, campus, students and faculty. Their support has resulted in activities that benefit the entire University and central New Jersey community,” Westminster College of the Arts Dean Dr. Marshall Onofrio said. “We are deeply grateful for their continued support.”

Presser Foundation Executive Director Teresa Araco Rogers said she felt it was important for the foundation to be part of the college’s relocation from Princeton to Lawrenceville.

“The renovation of rehearsal space for the celebrated Bell Choir aligns perfectly with the goals of the Foundation’s Capital Support grant making area,” Rogers said.

The room will feature sound attenuation that will protect student hearing during rehearsals and minimize sound transfer to adjacent offices and classrooms. The grant will also provide a security system for the instruments, which have an estimated value of more than $200,000.

The Westminster Concert Bell Choir is among the Choir College’s seven primary choirs. In September, the Bell Choir will begin its 42nd anniversary season.

It has made 11 solo recordings and has been featured on numerous television broadcasts, including Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and NBC’s Today show. The ensemble performs on the largest range of handbells in the world — eight octaves, from C1 to C9. Many of the bells are made of bronze and range in weight from four ounces to 11 pounds.

Rider’s Westminster Choir College is a leader in education in the handbell world. Thousands have attended Westminster for this very specific study, and Westminster is unequaled in the number of handbell ringers, conductors, clinicians and composers it has produced since its training and performance curriculum was first developed in 1978.

The Presser Foundation supports music performance and music education of organizations that provide a broad range of classical symphonic, chamber, choral and vocal music.

The integration of the Choir College into the Lawrenceville campus is part of Rider’s vision for the Westminster College of the Arts as a vibrant arts community that effectively serves the needs of students of the 21st century. Students will have the opportunity to take advantage of programs and facilities previously not conveniently available to them without traveling between campuses.

Established in 2007, Westminster College of the Arts is composed of two divisions in addition to Westminster Choir College: the School of Fine and Performing Arts and the Westminster Conservatory.