Shoreline Ringers Receives CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant from CT Humanities

Montville, CT (January 2021) — Connecticut Humanities, the statewide, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), has awarded Shoreline Ringers a $6,200 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant (CTCFOSG).

Shoreline Ringers is a nonprofit community handbell ensemble whose goals are to support the continued development of the art of handbell ringing, educate the wider public about the history of handbells and the musicality of the instrument, and foster musical growth within its membership. The organization will use the funds to recoup lost concert revenue due to COVID and to continue to increase its community outreach and engagement. This grant will support Shoreline Ringers operational expenses, allowing the all-volunteer organization to focus on musical excellence and spreading the beauty of handbells.

Ringing Member and Grant Writing Volunteer Emilie Steinnagel stated “with the support of Connecticut Humanities, we will be able to improve the group’s marketing, increase our audience, and grow our reach in the community this year. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to improve our financial sustainability and are looking forward to how it will open up possibilities for us to share our love of handbells with a wider audience.”

Shoreline Ringers was one of 624 organizations in Connecticut that was awarded CT Cultural Fund support totaling $16M from CT Humanities. The CTCFOSG are part of $30.7M of support allocated to arts, humanities, and cultural nonprofits through CTH over the next two years by the CT General Assembly and approved by Governor Ned Lamont. The CTCFOSG will assist organizations as they recover from the pandemic and maintain and grow their ability to serve their community and the public.

This grant was administered by CT Humanities (CTH), with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature.

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About Shoreline Ringers

Shoreline Ringers, inc. is a community handbell ensemble formed as a Connecticut non-profit corporation in September 2006. Our goals are to support the continued development of the art of handbell ringing and promote the ringing of handbells as a legitimate musical art form while educating audiences and increasing their knowledge and appreciation of handbell music through our concert performances.

About Connecticut Humanities
CT Humanities (CTH) is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources. Learn more by visiting cthumanities.org.

About Connecticut Office of the Arts

The Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) is the state agency charged with fostering the health of Connecticut’s creative economy. Part of the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, the COA is funded by the State of Connecticut as well as the National Endowment for the Arts.

Shoreline Ringers at HMA National Seminar 2021

  Opening Concert, Phoenix, AZ

Shoreline Ringers was selected to perform the opening concert at the Handbell Musicians of America National Seminar in Phoenix, AZ on July 14, 2021, and they rocked it!!

After a year of ups and downs with a disrupted rehearsal schedule due to COVID19, we all became fully vaccinated and realized our dream of performing before a national audience. Two members drove a rented van to Arizona with all the equipment and 15 other ringers flew out to perform two concerts in the Scottsdale area. Several members attended the entire 4 day seminar, others took the opportunity to vacation, and two other members drove the van back to Connecticut–a round-trip of over 5,000 miles.

We were most grateful to the generous people at our fund raising concert at Dunn’s Corners Presbyterian Community on June 27th who financed our way through each state with the rented van both out and back. They also enjoyed the exact concert we performed for national, including the premier of “Mack the Knife”, a piece we commissioned from Sandra Eithun.

Shoreline Ringers poses with composer/arranger Sandra Eithun after performing the premiere of her arrangement of “Mack the Knife.”

It was a treat to meet the people who arranged the music we played at national and hear how pleased they were with our presentation of their music. Attendees were delighted with the performance, and those of us who attended the seminar were the recipients of their compliments throughout the remainder of the week.

Thank you to all of you who supported us in this venture.