vhc members
Al Reese, Musical Director
Al Reese has served as the Musical Director of the Virginia Handbell Consort since January 2008. Al is a retired Army musician, serving over twenty-one years in various Army bands as a trumpet player. With various Army bands, he has performed for international audiences in marching, concert and jazz bands as lead trumpeter and soloist. He has played for artists such as Aretha Franklin and appears on the Grammy Award winning PDQ Bach recording "Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion."
Al has participated in numerous AGEHR Festivals and Conferences and Handbell Exploration events, where he has rung in Advances Performance Choirs under such notable directors as William Payn, Fred Gramann and David Davidson. An avid handbell soloist, he has coached with Nancy Hascall, Sueda Lutrell and Ron Bellamy. Al began with VHC as a ringer in January 2006.
Al is a published composer and holds a Master of Church Music Degree with concentration in Handbells from Concordia University, Wisconsin where he studied with William Payn, John Behnke, and Arnold Sherman. He is currently the Music Director and Organist at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Suffolk, VA.
Lynn Dash has been involved in music since childhood, singing in a variety of groups and playing flute in bands, orchestras, and other community groups across the country. She began ringing bells at Chestnut Memorial UMC in 1990. While raising three sons, Lynn and her husband Ernie moved frequently, thanks to his 27 year Air Force meteorology career. They are now empty nesters and Virginians by choice, and have lived in Grafton for over twenty years. Their family has expanded to include three daughters-in-law and five grandsons. Lynn has many interests including quilting, knitting and reading, and owns a home-based direct sales business.
Joyce Easter joined VHC in January 2002. Joyce's musical interests began in the 5th grade with the flute. She added the oboe in junior high school, bassoon in high school, and began solo ringing and directing during graduate school. Joyce holds a doctoral degree and is a Chemistry Professor at Virginia Wesleyan College. "Dr." Joyce is a New Jersey native and traveled through New York, North Carolina, and Illinois before settling down in Virginia Beach with her husband Loran.
Deana Laney is in her fourth year of ringing with VHC. She began her musical journey with piano at age seven and has been ringing handbells since 1976. She previously directed handbell choirs at Trinity Lutheran Church in Newport News and is also a solo ringer. Deana, mother of three children and grandmother to three, has spent her days for the past nineteen years at True Value Hardware in Grafton. At other times you can find Deana curled up with a good book!
Cindy Lewis, President of VHC, lives in Virginia Beach. After providing in-home child care for twenty years, she finally left the nest and now works as a sales representative for a local screenprinting/embroidery company. Cindy started ringing with her church choir before joining VHC in 1996. Cindy is a charter member of VHC.
Carol Lucas is one of our newest members, joining VHC in 2011. Carol was introduced to ringing as a teenager through church music camps, and is thrilled to have an opportunity to work on advanced music and techniques with VHC. Her favorite part of ringing? Teamwork! Carol is also an accomplished pianist, and enjoys accompanying vocalists as well as preparing offertories. During the week Carol works as a civil engineer for the US Army Training and Doctrine Command. A native of Pennsylvania, she lives with her husband Ken in Yorktown and is a proud HOKIE parent and an avid kayaker.
Ann Morgan brings twenty years of ringing experience to the group. Ann is a VHC charter member. She also rings with the Monumental UMC bell choir and with Tapestry, a community handbell quartet. A native of Newport News, she now lives in Portsmouth with her husband, Arthur. When not ringing handbells, she enjoys quiltmaking.
Lucille Rankin was born and raised in the Midwest, but has settled in Chesapeake. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and small business owner. Ringing merrily with VHC since January 1998, she also enjoys playing the piano, singing and making melody in her heart to the Lord.
Lois Reese began her ringing career in 1987 and began with VHC in August 2005. She teaches vocal music and world drumming at Trinity Lutheran School, Newport News, is the Music Director at Hilton Presbyterian Church, Newport News and is a member of the Virginia Opera Chorus. Lois was the Local Conductor for the Hudson Valley Handbell Festival in 2004 and has had the pleasure of spending a week studying advanced handbell conducting with Dr. William Payn at Concordia University. Lois has been playing the piano and flute since her childhood. She and her husband, Al, reside in Norfolk with their dog Abby. When not singing or ringing you can find Lois sitting at the sewing machine.
Debbie Robertson comes to VHC with a love of music and enjoys playing bells and the flute, not necessarily at the same time. She has been part of the bell choir at her home church in Suffolk for twenty some years. She was also a member of an ecumenical bell group in her area. Debbie has been with the Suffolk Public School system for 33 years teaching first grade for most of them but now is a reading specialist working with kindergarten through fifth grade. Debbie is married, mother of four (two sons, two daughters), has a granddaughter (whom she loves to spoil) and several grandpets. The opportunity to ring with VHC is exciting and challenging and she looks forward to being part of such a talented group of musicians.
Karen Simons came to the Hampton Roads area in 1991 to take a job at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Having grown up with music all her life, learning to play the piano (she claims "poorly"), the viola ("not bad"), and singing ("you be the judge"), learning to ring handbells was a challenge she couldn't resist. She has been ringing for thirteen years and is a charter member of VHC. She also rings with St. Pauls Episcopal in Suffolk. She currently lives in Chesapeake with her daughter and four schnauzers!
Donna Writesel joined VHC in September 2009. Music has been Donna's passion since she took her first piano lesson at age 6. She started playing bells as a youth in her hometown of Portsmouth, VA. She attended TCC with a major in piano and minor in voice. Donna attends Community UMC where she sings in several choirs, accompanies the children's choir, rings in the adult bell choir and directs a beginner's bell choir. She lives in Virginia Beach with her husband Jim and son Tyler who, at age 19 and at Scott Memorial UMC, is currently the youngest Music Director/Organist for the Norfolk Division of the United Methodist Church. A very proud mom! Not to be left out is the family feline, Norma Jean. Donna works in sales and as the export coordinator for a local fiber optics company and enjoys reading in her spare time.