Carol Bonebrake makes room for 44 bells and a grand piano

By Mike Gibbs
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

“Music means so much to me because it is such a passionate expression, and allows you to vent all of your personal feelings and relationships in such a beautiful manner,” says hand bell musician Carol Bonebrake.

Since the first time she sat down at a piano in second grade, music has been an inseparable part of Carol’s life. She has continued to pursue that passion as a student, teacher, and even a conductor of music.

A musical history
Carol’s life history is intertwined with music. After taking voice lessons in high school and conducting the Niles Township High School choir, Carol moved on to the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wis., where she studied voice.

Later, she taught music in the Illinois public school system and served as music director at a number of churches where she and husband Doug, were members. At a church in Dolton, Carol encountered a unique dilemma. The children in the children’s choir didn’t want to sing. To help them overcome their shyness, Carol passed out hand bells. The only problem was that she herself didn’t know much about them.

“I signed up for every clinic, every reading session. I went to talk to people who played hand bells. That was how I learned,” she says. “We started with nothing and built a fiveoctave hand bell choir.”

From that point on, Carol was in love with hand bells. “They are an individual instrument. You’re responsible for your notes. Nobody else plays your notes. When you play a scale and miss the next two notes, there is a really big hole.”

Bring on the bells
Currently, the Bonebrakes belong to Grace United Methodist Church in Naperville, where Carol is a member of the hand bell choir. Every other year, she travels to various ensemble conventions to play.