About Us: The Ringers
We come from a variety of backgrounds and talents outside of the handbell world. Click on, or mouse over, each of our pictures to find out more about who we are.
Carol Morschhauser: Carol is from Mystic, and has been playing bells ever since she moved back to the area in 1980. A PK, she moved many times, finally residing in Hong Kong as a teenager and graduating high school in Taiwan. She has a daughter and a son, and is the proud grandmother of two beautiful children by her son. Her son and granddaughter also share her love of handbells. Carol's cat Pywackit has a live-in staff that includes Carol, her husband Dave, and their dog Mysti. When not on call, the staff spends their "down" time cruising the waters of southern New England, and have piloted their boat, Setag, everywhere from Provincetown on Cape Cod to Buffalo, New York via the Erie Canal.
Mobby Larson: Mobby Larson has been involved with music since 4th grade children's choir at her home church, which was, well, a very long time ago. For many years she accompanied the St. Luke choir and a Navy wives' singing group, both directed by Jane Nolan. "Jane loves syncopated music and is mostly very patient with those of us who had more sedate teachers." Mobby has branched out into handbells in recent years (inspired by son Pete) and rings at Ledyard Congregational Church, where she is also the pastor. (It's a very understanding congregation.)
Lawrence A. Berdensey: Larry Began ringing four years ago with Jane Nolan at St. Luke Lutheran Church. He has been directing handbells for the past 2.5 years at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Gales Ferry, where his music ministry includes two youth ensembles and an adult quartet. Larry received his B.S. in music education from the University of Connecticut and he holds a masters degree in education from Southern Connecticut State University. Larry has been teaching music for 22 years, and he is currently the band director at Fitch Middle School in Groton, CT. Professional memberships include MENC, CACLD, LDA, AGEHR, CEA, and the Conductor's Guild. Larry resides in Gales Ferry with his wife and three daughters.
Robin Martelle: Robin began ringing when she was twelve years old in Newtown, Pennsylvania. She is the director of handbells and the junior choir at Saint David's Episcopal Church in Gales Ferry. Robin received her B.S. in music education from the University of Hartford and has a masters degree in education from Eastern Connecticut State University. She has been teaching general music for 8 years at Noank and SB Butler Elementary schools in Groton, CT. Robin currently lives in Ledyard with her husband and son.
Jennifer Muggeo: Jen learned to read music and play bells at church growing up in upstate New York. After a long break, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to ring again and is grateful to Jane, her fellow ringers and the audience for their patience as she gets back in the 'swing' of things. Outside of rehearsal, you can find Jen at her desk at Ledge Light Health District or enjoying her new home in Gales Ferry, which she shares with her husband Jason Taggart, George the dog, Blondie the hamster and Marcus the hermit crab.
MaryGail Simpson: MaryGail lives in Groton, CT and has been a fifth-grade teacher for over 30 years. She credits her father, a church musician, for her love of music. She has sung in various choirs and has helped organize and conduct the chorus at her school. MaryGail has played handbells for many years, beginning under the direction and tutelage of Jane Nolan at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Gales Ferry, CT. She is married and has one son and one Airedale.
Lauren Larson: Lauren is a somewhat recent graduate from the University of Hartford, where she majored in mechanical engineering with an acoustics concentration and minored in math and music. She lives in Colchester and works as a systems engineer at Hamilton Sundstrand in their Space, Land, and Sea division in Windsor Locks. She has watched and listened to bells for years and through this group has finally received the chance to perform.
Suzie Krakowiak: Suzie wanted to ring bells the first time she heard her older sister play. She has been playing handbells for 9 years and loves ringing. She performed at the Oxford Diocesan Convention in England and has rung throughout New England. She is currently a freshman at Gateway Community College where she plans to earn her associates degree and then further her education in Business Administration. She works at the Dubliner at Mohegan Sun and at Ambercrombie and Fitch. She says, "I love bells!".
Katy King: Katy is 16 years old and a homeschooled sophomore. She has been playing handbells since third grade. She lives in Groton and attends Christ Lutheran Church in Niantic. Her favorite subjects are music theory, music composition, Latin, and of course, handbells! In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing fiction, and doing almost anything music-related.
Pete Larson: Pete began ringing at the wee age of 10, or 5th grade, or therabouts. He began under Jane, and fell in love with handbells. He rang with the New England Ringers for a year in college, and now enjoys spending his Wednesday evenings watching Jane wave her arms furiously. He works at Pfizer in New London as a computer consultant and lives in Colchester.
Michael Steele: Mike has been playing handbells since day 2 of the handbell era at St. Luke, under Jane's teaching. There, he played in the Concert handbell choir, and had the opportunity to accompany the U.S. Coast Guard on handbells. He's also been involved in the recording of three CDs. He currently lives in Norwich, CT, but has lived in several other parts of CT, and works at Bob's Discount Furniture as the trainer for the delivery drivers.
James Cady: James has been playing bells since 2000, at the tender young age of 13. He's been ringing ever since, and is already facing his third instructor (seriously, Jane is fantastic). James has lead a fairly musical life, first learning the cello and french horn, so when the time came to play bells, he fell fast. How did he find his way to the Shoreline Ringers? It just so happens his church instructor, Robin Martelle, also rings in the group, and when the time came to add a member, his name came up. Honestly, he couldn't think of a more enjoyable way to spend his Wednesday evening. James is in his second year at Three Rivers Community College, and also works as a math tutor.
Pat Korenkiewicz: Pat is Music Director at Colchester Federated Church, the site of our first ever Christmas Concert, where she directs the Sr. and Jr Choirs, handchime choir and is also organist. Over the years she has served churches in VT, NH, NY and CT. Although she's been playing in churches "forever" she is relatively new to bell ringing and loving every minute of it! Pat lives in Colchester with her husband John and has 3 children and 3 grandchildren.
Kristen Russo: Kristen has been playing handbells since the age of 17. She went to her first AGEHR Festival/Conference at Niagra Falls in 1994 and has only missed one festival since then. Kristen has rung her way around New England starting with the St. Joseph Handbell Choir in Bristol CT, to the New England Ringers in MA, to Bells of Joy in Rutland Vermont, and now to the Shoreline Ringers! She is also a vocalist and sings with 'Gaudeamus', a semi-professional choir directed by Nicholas White in Torrington, CT as well as the St Joseph Adult Choir in Bristol. She currently lives in Terryville and directs the Asbury Methodist Church Handbell Choir in Bristol, CT. Kristen has a degree in Music Education and is currently working at BLR in Old Saybrook. She has this to say about music: "It's something that must be coded in my DNA. I would not be myself without it, and it's something that I HAVE to participate in."