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who we are

 The Houston Bronze Ensemble is a professional, auditioned, handbell ensemble made up of musicians from the greater Houston area.  Known as Houston’s premier handbell choir, the ensemble performs regular concerts in the winter and spring as well as community, regional, and national events, weddings, and private parties. The group plays a wide variety of musical genres, always with the goal of excellence.
Founded in 1988, Houston Bronze Ensemble was started as an avenue for Houston area handbell directors to have a place to ring.  A lunchtime meeting with only a napkin to write the names of those who might be interested is what started it all.  The rest, as they say, is history.  
While we have a long history, Houston Bronze also recognizes the importance of building the future of handbell ringing.  We offer a variety of educational opportunities designed to meet the unique needs of churches and schools who wish to build or improve their handbell programs. Workshops designed to meet specific needs, mini concerts, and petting zoos are a sample of what we provide to the Houston area handbell community.  
Whether it’s through a concert, playing at your wedding, party, or private or community event, conducting a workshop for your ensemble, or presenting an educational program for your school, we would love to share our art with you!  Please look through the website for more information about our group and what we offer.   Whether it is a concert, music for a party, or a workshop for your ensemble, we look forward to working with you to provide handbell excellence to meet your needs! 

Over the years, Houston Bronze has commissioned or had several pieces of music written for them. To see this list, click on the button below.

Houston Bronze is a member of Handbell Musicians of America,  Area 9

Houston bronze commissions

Our first thirty years

Blast from the past part one 1988-2001

blast from the past part two 2001-2014

blast from the past part three 2014-2019

Meet the Crew

We hope to meet you soon!

Houston Bronze Board
Kathy Beaird, President
Linda Ellison, Vice PresidentDruEllen Duncan, SecretaryWilson Van Tine, TreasurerJ. Marvin Havard, Member at Large
Jerry Conry, Member at Large and Librarian

Meet our artistic Director

David York

With a background primarily in choral conducting, David came to handbells mid-career by way of composing an original work for Bells of the Cascades and his semi-professional vocal choir, David York Ensemble. “The Bells” - text by Edgar Allan Poe -  was a success and the handbell bug bit hard. A few years later, he was hired to conduct Bells of the Cascades, a post he held for three seasons. In addition to his award-winning chamber choir, numerous community choirs of various sizes, skill-level, and repertoire, and church work for his entire adult life, Dr. York directed Portland Boychoir for fifteen years, the last ten years of which included a handbell program he built from scratch. David relocated to Houston in 2019. He’s now the Director of Music at First Congregational Church of Houston, the Artistic Director for Pride Chorus Houston, and the Music Director for the Houston Christmas Revels. David brings big energy and excitement to Houston Bronze Ensemble, and a self-declared commitment for having FUN through all phases of the music-making process. 

Houston bronze ensemble

Kathy Beaird

Board President and Ensemble Member

Kathy Beaird is a native Aggie and USAF brat who is very active in her International School Bangkok alumni group, where she serves as president. Most of her childhood was spent on the beautiful beaches of Ft Walton Beach/Destin, FL, prior to her family living in exotic Thailand for two years. She began ringing handbells in 1989. She has been a member of HBE since January of 2016 and currently serves as president of the board of directors. After 21 years as a special educator, Kathy now works as a professional pet sitter in the Clear Lake area and is the human mom to fur kiddos Bette, Fanny, Lola, Mabel, and Eddie. In those rare moments of unscheduled time she enjoys reading, tending to her flower beds, and watching Astros baseball.  

Wade Brokmeyer

Board Member At Large and Ensemble Member

Wade Brokmeyer first began ringing in junior high and throughout high school, but a combination of attending Texas A&M and moving throughout the upper Midwest and New England for his career led to a 15-year pause. Now that he’s back and settled in his native Texas, Wade works as a project manager in the pipelines industry, where he brings his love of teambuilding and being an all-around busybody to various pipeline and compressor station projects throughout the country. Wade’s other hobbies include collecting vintage Pokémon cards, cooking and baking, and pretending to host a TV show while doing said cooking/baking (ratings thus far have been positive.)

Laura bush

Ensemble Member

Laura Bush is a native Houstonian and has been ringing bells for 42 years. She has rung with Houston Bronze, Houston Chamber Ringers and Bayou City Bells. She currently directs the children’s and adult handbell choirs at Sugar Land Methodist Church. As a certified math teacher, Laura taught GED classes for 14 years. She and her husband, Karl, live in Sugar Land and enjoy spending time with their four grandsons.

Jerry  Conry

Board Vice President, Librarian, and Ensemble Member

Jerry Conry graduated from East Texas State University with a degree in Music Education and later returned to obtain a Master's in Business Administration. He began ringing handbells when he was 12 years old. He recently retired after 36 years with the Department of Defense which afforded him the opportunity to see the world.  During his career, Jerry lived and worked in the United Kingdom for 7 years, where he rang with the Hamilton Ringers who represented the UK in the opening ceremony of the International Handbell Symposium, performed at the Victoria and Albert Museum and appeared numerous times on BBC television. Jerry and husband Franki live in the Houston neighborhood of Somerset Green with their dogs Razzie, who has no plans to attend college despite excellent marks in obedience school, and Ty, who flunked out of obedience school.

Dru ElleN duncan

Board Secretary and Ensemble Member

DruEllen Duncan has been ringing bells off and on for about thirty years.  For her real job, she is an elementary school teacher with Pearland ISD. She and her husband, Tim, are blessed to have two sons and a daughter-in-love. Her eldest son, Will, and his wife, Emma, live in Louisiana, and her youngest son, Robert, is attending college at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA. Their furry children, Steve and Blu, are both rescue dogs, and they definitely keep everyone entertained. When she is not ringing bells, DruEllen can most likely be found at school or at home watching an Astros game.

Linda Ellison

Board Member at Large and Ensemble Member

Linda Ellison  graduated from The University of Texas in Austin with a Bachelor of Music.  She retired from Alief Independent School District where she taught elementary and intermediate school music and private flute lessons. Linda and husband, Bob, have three grown children and six wonderful grandchildren.  She began ringing with Houston Bronze in January of 2011 and currently serves as a Member at Large on the board of HBE.  She has participated at Distinctly Bronze East and West, mass ringing events sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America and had the opportunity to be a ringer in Virtuoso, an event sponsored by Raleigh Ringers in North Carolina.

Alex Erhardt

Ensemble Member

Alex Erhardt​ is a local area percussionist and recording artist. With a primary focus on drum set and vibraphone, Alex continues to perform locally, regionally, and around the world with various artists. He has rung with the Chapelwood UMC Chancel Bell Coir, and joined HBE in the spring of 2023.

Board Member at Large and Ensemble Member

J. Marvin Havard was introduced to handbells in 1984 and has been ringing or directing handbells almost every year since. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Delta State University (Cleveland, MS) with a focus in choral music and piano. He has served as organist and choir director at churches in Mississippi, Missouri, and Minnesota. After receiving his Master of Divinity from Wartburg Theological Seminary (Dubuque, IA), Marvin was ordained as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He now serves as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Bellaire, TX. He is an avid reader and is always looking for the next great sci-fi/fantasy novel.

MATT hawley

Ensemble Member

Matt Hawley graduated from Trinity University with a B.S. in Computer Science and has worked as a Software Engineer and a high school Mathematics teacher.  He started ringing as a sixth grader with his church and has not stopped, adding percussion, flute, vocal, and piano skills to his musical stockpile throughout his journey.  Matt also plays flute and piccolo for the Kingwood Pops Orchestra, and he enjoys combining his knowledge and passion for music with his experiences in Mathematics, Computer Science, Theology, and springboard diving.

sarah Killingsworth

Ensemble Member

Sarah Killingsworth is a licensed architect and Houston native who is active in her profession as a young professional and organizational leader. She enjoys many creative pursuits including  photography,  graphic design, dance, and music, and is a black cat enthusiast. Sarah has been ringing  with her home church of University Baptist Church in Clear Lake since childhood, and is a rookie  member of Houston Bronze in 2021. ​

Kyle MANinantan

Ensemble Member

Kyle Maninantan is a recent graduate of the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, and is currently an elementary music teacher in Fort Bend ISD. When not teaching, he works as a composer and arranger of music, from classical literature to pop songs. He is an avid foodie, and loves cooking and trying new recipes. He started playing handbells in 2018 with St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in the Heights, and continues to do so to this day.

Diana Montgomery

Ensemble Member

Diana Montgomery was born and raised in Ohio but has lived in Texas for the last 39 years.  She is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a degree in music education with emphasis in flute and organ.  She is retired from a 30+ year career as a CPA and is now spending her life with handbells.  She is active in the music ministry of Chapelwood United Methodist Church and directs their Chancel Bells and a children’s handbell ensemble.  In 2019, Diana assumed leadership of the Brookwood Community Handbell Ensemble and has fallen in love with this community and its citizens.  She also serves on the board of directors for the Greater Houston Handbell Association (GHHA) and Handbell Musicians of America Area 9 (HMA; Texas and Oklahoma).  Aside from handbells, Diana is blessed to be one of 10 pianists in Chapelwood’s fabulous Carols and Keyboards concert each December, performed on 4 concert grand pianos along with choir and organ.  She is happily married and has 3 beautiful grandchildren.

Michelle Shuman

Ensemble Member

Michelle Shuman joined Houston Bronze Ensemble in 2001. She started her handbell journey in the Bernadine Bell Choir in Garden City, KS and was fortunate to play in the Rhapsody Ringers under Joan Shull while at Kansas State University. She came to Houston for medical residency and is currently a pediatrician with Texas Children’s Pediatrics. Her hobbies include astronomy, watercolor painting, riding her E-bike, walking, and reading. She lives in the Heights with her 3 cats and an assortment of wildlife that calls her back yard home

Megan Staley

Ensemble member

Megan Staley first started ringing handbells at a young age in Cincinnati, Ohio, progressing to the adult bell choir at her church when she was in junior high school. While living in Boston as a young professional, she rang with the Old South Ringers at the Old South Church in Boston and was a substitute ringer for the Back Bay Ringers in its nascent years. For the last 15 years, Megan lived in Europe (Paris, London, and Geneva). While there, she rang under the direction of Fred Gramann at the American Church in Paris (commuting from London for some rehearsals and all performances!). While in London, Megan also learned the art of tower bell ringing. Megan repatriated to the US in August 2023, settling in Houston, where she now works for Sempra Infrastructure, bringing her 20 years of experience in the LNG industry to their Port Arthur LNG project. While not ringing, Megan loves doing jigsaw puzzles, and if she can adjust to the Texas weather, she will resume running. 

wilson Van Tine

Board Treasurer and Ensemble Member

Wilson  Van Tine​  works for Phillips 66 as the Manager of Audit Services. Besides ringing with Houston Bronze, Wilson also rings with Memorial Drive United Methodist Church and as a solo ringer. Wilson serves as treasurer on the board of  Houston Bronze.  Wilson lives with his two dogs Rocco and Splinter.

HBE Equipment and Accoutrement

Houston Bronze Ensemble makes a wide variety of meaningful music with 7-octaves of Schulmerich Handbells, 6-octaves of Malmark Handchimes, 2 octaves of Schulmerich Silver Melody Bells, 1 octave of Malmark Cymbells, 5 octaves of Petit and Fritsen Bells, a 4 octave set of Schulmerich bells for duplicates, orchestral chimes, a trap set, 54-feet of tables, 54-feet of 4" thick foam padding, a gazillion yards of corduroy table covers,  14 singing bell dowels, 2 rolling bass bell racks, 52 mallets of varying sizes and styles, 18 sets of battery-operated stand lights, 3 extra music folders for rehearsal substitute ringers, 6 collapsible Manhasset music stands, 19 rolling bell and chime cases, 1 triangle, 1 pair of castanets, 1 wind chime, 1 pair of finger cymbals, 1 cajon drum, 1 big can of Simichrome bell polish, dozens of polishing cloths, and 1 very important box of tools. We are occasionally joined by fabulous instrumental soloists, talented choral ensembles and vocal soloists, and once even a pair of ballroom dancers.