Malabar music teacher Pam Hunt directs students in a rehearsal of “The Star Spangled Banner” on their handbells.
If the handbells at Malabar Intermediate School fall silent, hearing-impaired students will lose what teachers say is a rich and rewarding experience.
Those students, and others who not hearing impaired, performed “The Star Spangled Banner” at a Veterans Day program in the Malabar auditorium. Music teacher Pam Hunt said the audience was “spellbound” by the beauty of the handbell tones.
Because several of the students can not hear, Hunt points to each student when it is their turn to ring the handbells. The result, as it was with “The Star Spangled Banner,” is a rich mixture of notes and octaves.
But the handbells’ days are numbered. Their condition has deteriorated severely over three decades of use.
“The handbells were purchased for the hearing impaired class prior to 1986 by the Sertoma Club, which has provided trips and support for our hearing-impaired students. It was a generous gift, as the handbells cost around $3,000,” Hunt said.
“Sadly, the Sertoma Club can not afford the cost of refurbishing the handbells which is around $4,000.”
Some of the handbells have broken handles bandaged with electrical tape. Others have loose ringers or cracked bumpers.
The original set was said to have been 37 bells, but Hunt inherited 28 bells in three cases when she began teaching in Mansfield City Schools in 1998. Missing bells were either lost or not part of the original set.
Complete refurbishment – replacement parts, tuning, reassembly and polishing – costs $3,800. Shipment to the manufacturer in Pennsylvania would add another $240.
Debbie Reynolds-Boggs, who teaches the hearing-impaired students, said the handbells offer a “rewarding experience.”
“Some can hear a high-pitched sound and they can feel the vibrations,” she said. “There is a lot of enrichment in a shared experience. The handbells offer these students an opportunity to take part in something.”
Hearing impairment ranges from slight to total deafness. One student has a cochlear implant, another has a double implant.
Hunt has searched for grants to pay for the handbell refurbishment, but has had no luck so far.
“I’ve look everywhere I can think of,” she said. “It’s a shame to see them falling apart. The students love to play them. The smiles on their faces say it all.”