Band News

Date News item
Sun Mar 26, 2017 A very enjoyable 12-bell weekend took place on the 25th and 26th, with ringers from across the Northeast joining local band members for some spirited 12-bell ringing. Saturday's ringing included the North American premiere of Erin Sextuples - with all 13 tower bells deployed. An afternoon of quarter peals and general ringing was followed by a fine dinner at nearby Les Halles. Sunday morning included a handbell quarter peal, general ringing and open service ringing (in the Dorian mode for Lent). The weekend's events wrapped up with an afternoon peal of 5042 Spliced Surprise Maximus (Yorkshire and Cambridge, composed by Don Morrison), dedicated to Tim Barnes' birthday a few days earlier.
Sun Feb 19, 2017 Congratulations to the peal band on scoring the first peal on our new light 8 with sharp 2nd! The method was Bristol Major, with Tim conducting. Some high drama also this morning during the pre-service ringing, with the clapper of the 11 shearing in two on one of its strikes and crashing to the bellchamber floor. Stuart, Tim and John installed a new clapper during the service, and all was in readiness for post-service ringing on the back bells, followed by the peal on the front bells, with all three mechanics in the peal band. Solid inspiration for “getting on with it!”
Sun Feb 19, 2017 The American Guild of Organists (AGO) holds a regional conference annually in New York City on this weekend, and this year the new organ installation at St. Paul's Chapel featured prominently in the event. A tour of the Trinity bell tower and a presentation in the ringing room of the art of changing-ringing was offered as one of the events of this year's conference. About 30 organists made the climb up the steps (including one individual who was blind). Over the course of an hour and a half, our guests heard something of how change-ringing works and what differentiates it from other types of ringing, followed by a demonstration of Plain Hunt on 4. Jeremy and Tony offered those who were interested (and many were!) a few backstroke pulls, while Charlotte and David mingled with the guests, answering their many questions - and they were all good questions! It was a great public relations event for the tower and for change-ringing, and the audience was very enthusiastic.
Sun Jan 29, 2017 Our pre-service quarter-peal today of Stedman Caters was successful, and we are pleased to dedicate it to Duncan and Jenny's infant daughter Harriet Jennifer, born just a few weeks ago. The service touch included some 12-bell ringing made up of two bands of six bells, each of them simultaneously ringing Plain Bob Doubles. Interesting to ring and lovely to listen to. Our handbells were also back in use today, after a rather long hiatus.
Sun Jan 22, 2017 A full day of ringing in the tower, beginning with a quarter peal of Plain Bob Triples that was going along beautifully until the number 3 slipped wheel. Both QP's and full peals have been lost to this problem and we are working towards a solution. After post-service ringing, some students from the Kent School along with ringing tutor and faculty member Matt Austin spent a couple of hours with us for a practice workshop, which was enjoyable and productive. Our own group of learners is progressing well. The last several months have seen an unusually high number of new recruits, and their enthusiasm and commitment is borne out in the progress they've made.
Sat Jan 21, 2017 Today's pre-service ringing saw the debut appearance of our new light ("heather") grey-colored uniform polo shirts for the Sunday webcast. We had a good turnout of ringers, with Erin Caters as the service touch. We're pleased with the new look, and with the choices that were made in the redesign.
Mon Dec 19, 2016 The officers of the Trinity Ringers Association extend best wishes to all of our members, friends and associates for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 2016 marked the end of the first 10 years of ringing at Trinity, and we look forward to building on that foundation in 2017 and beyond.
Sun Oct 30, 2016 The last weekend in October, beginning on Thursday afternoon through most of the day Sunday, was a time of great celebration, with our long-planned 10th Anniversary event marking the installation and first peal of the bells. About 50 people came together, including many visitors from across the US, from Canada and of course from the UK. The days held many ringing opportunities, both general and quarter peals, on tower bells, handbells and mini-ring. There was also much socializing, and lots of good fun throughout the event. Saturday's dinner at Trinity Place was a wonderful evening. The limited space of this news feed couldn’t begin to do justice to the full scope of the event, but it will surely be remembered as a high point in our tower’s history to date. The weekend concluded with a peal of 5010 Stedman Cinques, rung by the St. Paul’s Cathedral Guild of Change-Ringers, which included Dill Faulkes, the donor of the Trinity bells.
Sun Oct 23, 2016 We’re pleased to share the news that this afternoon the local band scored a peal of New York Littleport Little Surprise Caters. The peal was specially composed to mark the 10th anniversary, and was conducted by Tim. We’ve been practicing the method for some time, and after a couple of attempts that were lost, we’re very glad that the peal scored during this anniversary month. It was enjoyable to ring, and a nice way to lead into the celebrations later this week, when visitors from the UK, Canada and other parts of the US will be with us.
Sun Oct 16, 2016 A productive tower-cleanup after post-service ringing today, putting the house in order in readiness for our anniversary event that we'll soon be hosting, with many visitors expected. The anteroom below the ringing room has been transformed from a storage area to an attractive parlor, with furniture and seating nicely arranged and many bulky and unsightly items (such as all those pieces of wood) cleared away. Our vacuum cleaners also saw lots of service time.