Bells of the Cascades began in 1990, organized by a group of directors and advanced ringers seeking to share our love of handbells and a more challenging ringing experience. We invited a director, ringers auditioned, we formed a nonprofit corporation, and the choir was off and running.
As we continued to develop a reputation as a top performing choir, we began to promote the art of handbell ringing by teaching workshops and conducting music reading sessions for local ringers.
In 1993, Bells of the Cascades organized our first handbell cruise, a floating workshop sailing through Alaska's Inside Passage. Since then, we have cruised the Eastern and Western Caribbean (including the Panama Canal), Mexican Riviera, and returned to Alaska—enjoying the company of ringers from all over North America as well as Europe, South America, and Australia—fifteen times.
Pioneers in the community handbell choir movement, Bells of the Cascades has been invited to the Handbell Musicians of America’s national handbell conference three times, in 1997, 2013 and 2021. We have also performed at regional handbell conferences and showcases in the Pacific Northwest several times.
We've collaborated with many other artists, including performances with Portland Choir and Orchestra, Pink Martini, the Melodica Men, Cathedral Bells, Bells of the Sound, Masterworks Choral Ensemble, Portland's Singing Christmas Tree, and more. We also perform as quintets and full ensembles at community events throughout Western Oregon and Southwest Washington.
In 2026, Bells of the Cascades and the Pikes Peak Ringers from Colorado Springs, premiered Matthew Compton’s “When All Else Fails…,” a work composed for bells, strings, woodwinds, percussion, and voices. Each piece in this eleven-movement work could finish the phrase “When All Else Fails…,” each with its own emotion and feel. Each movement was framed around a poem quote, or other text exemplifying these values - love, hope, friendship, and so on. The two groups rehearsed separately in the months leading up to the concert, and it was such a joy to bring the two groups together for this collaboration, each getting to hear sections that only the other choir played. The addition of the strings, woodwinds, percussion, and vocalists fully brought the work to life, and the variety of movements highlighted the diverse talents on the stage. It was an incredible concert experience for both performers and listeners alike and a one-of-a-kind handbell concert.
Our Directors
Dick Coulter
1990–1997
Nancy Hascall
1997–2011
Kris Sparks
interim · 2012–2013
David York
2013–2016
Leanne Bilstrom
interim · 2016
Matthew Compton
2017–present
