Published: August 21, 2025
When Betsy Allen visited Kendal at Oberlin for a “Try It, You’ll Like It,” the sound she heard as she walked down the Stephens Care Center (SCC) hallway was literally music to her ears. It was the SCC Bell Choir making music with an instrument Betsy has been playing for more than 30 years.No surprise, then, that after moving into Kendal and getting settled Betsy started recruiting other residents to play handbells with her.
That was more than three years ago, and today Bel Canto is an active member of Kendal’s vibrant music scene.
“Playing bells is the ultimate team activity,” Betsy says, explaining her love for the instrument. “You can’t do it alone and you must be in sync. Everybody is working together to create this music.”
Bel Canto is an eclectic mix of a dozen men and women with varying degrees of expertise. One member, Karla Sanderson, is an Oberlin resident and the rest are Kendal residents: Jeanne Berger; Anne Conway; Steve Kerr; Jan Koepp; Polly McIlrath; Tom Morgan; Bruce Richards; Tom Riis; Randy Wagner; Casey Wells; Carl Whitehouse.
“I don’t play, I direct. That is, I teach and guide the ringers. I help them play as one. I’ve never been a director, so I’ve had to learn to be one,” Betsy says.
Betsy moved to Kendal from State College, Pennsylvania, where she played in a church handbell choir. Over the years she played bells in many local, national and international festivals, including three European handbell tours.
For its first three years Bel Canto practiced at First Church in Oberlin, which no longer had a handbell choir but still had handbells. The choir would occasionally play at the church and give an occasional performance at Kendal.
Now Bel Canto has its own bells, thanks to the generosity of Lakewood Baptist Church that merged with another church and no longer needed its bells. “It’s kind of a miracle we got our bells for free,” Betsy says. “And now we have 235 pieces of music too.”
The donated bells have two more octaves of bells so Bel Canto needs more ringers.
“New ringers need to be able to read music and have a good sense of rhythm. Ringing technique can be taught, but one needs to have a solid musical background,” Betsy says.
The choir took a hiatus for the summer, and this month resumes its practice schedule, now in Kendal’s Education Center. Bel Canto’s next performance at Kendal is Nov. 2 as part of Kendal’s Sunday afternoon music series.
Because she didn’t want to give up ringing, Betsy also plays with Celebration Ringers, an advanced handbell choir in Strongsville. They will be giving a concert at Kendal on Sunday, Dec. 14.
“The Kendal community has been very supportive of us – both of Bel Canto and Celebration Ringers. It’s been great,” Betsy says.
And yes, Betsy and the other handbell ringers know they often don’t look happy when they’re playing, but they are. “It’s just that bell ringing takes so much concentration,” she says.
Kendal’s vibrant music scene
Along with Bel Canto and the SCC Bell Choir, Kendal is home to dozens of musicians who enjoy playing the piano, gathering with other musicians to play chamber music or sing in a Kendal choir. Kendal also has two recorder groups and The Occasional Band.
Along with Sunday afternoon concerts made up of Kendal residents or Oberlin College Conservatory of Music students and faculty, many Kendal activities like the Spring Fling and Winter Solstice include musical entertainment.
“One of the great pleasures of living at Kendal at Oberlin is the wealth of live music available for your listening pleasure, both at Kendal itself and at the nearby Oberlin Conservatory,” said Larry Mirel, chair of the Music Committee.
