November 1, 2025
Under a Harvest Moon
Fall Concert
Program order for today’s concert:
Procession in Bronze
/
Arnold B. Sherman
The Ash Grove
/
arr. Matthew Compton & Alex Guebert
Moondance
/
arr. Sondra K. Tucker
Rewrite the Stars
/
arr. Brenda E. Austin; featuring Russell Cooper on percussion
Nocturnal Fantasy
/
Emily Li
Fly Me to the Moon
/
arr. Joel Raney; featuring Heather Willemsen on keyboard; Lauri Hoff on bass; Russell Cooper on percussion
Moon Over the Ruined Castle
/
arr. Kazuko Okamoto
In the Hall of the Mountain King
/
arr. Martha Lynn Thompson
Flashdance… What a Feeling
/
arr. Ron Mallory; featuring Russell Van Vlack on cajon; Lauri Hoff on bass; Heather Willemsen on keyboard
Celebration!
/
arr. Ron Mallory; featuring Lauri Hoff on bass; Russell Cooper on cajon
Please join us for a reception after the concert to celebrate 30 years of Embellish!
Note from Stephanie…
Embellish’s Beginnings (click to expand)
Embellish was born from a series of connections, as are most wonderful things. I came to love handbells after joining my church handbell choir in Grand Rapids in 1982. Around the same time, my brother-in-law, Carl Wiltse, was getting into handbells at his own church in Holland MI, and in Bay View MI where he and his wife had a cottage. They became close friends with Don Allured, who also had a cottage there and was a pioneer in the handbell world. Around the same time, I got involved in a listserv called Handbell-L, where people from all over the world with a passion for the instrument shared ideas. Through that I met the director and members of Raleigh Ringers, a high-level professional handbell ensemble that was breaking new ground in handbell performance.
One family Thanksgiving after dinner, Carl, his wife Pamela and I began chatting about our love for handbells and how fun it might be to start a community group with no limits as to the kinds of repertoire we could perform. We formed a committee with a few other like-minded local folks, one of whom was well connected with regard to the politics of forming a board and a group. As a result, Embellish was formed as a 501-3 non-profit group with a board of directors, and we were off to the races! We named Carl as music director, and he stayed in that position for the first two years.
Our first year, we had just enough people audition to fill the group. We borrowed equipment from a local UCC, but eventually the Keller family donated our first five octaves in memory of Carl’s mother, who was Bernie Keller’s sister. With our own bells, we were more able to begin performing and traveling on our own. Since then, the group has had a rich history and has grown in membership and acquired much more equipment. Through excellent board leadership, community support, and musical growth, Embellish continues as a strong musical entity in the Grand Rapids area and well beyond.
-Stephanie Wiltse
Embellish Family History
Notable Events
1995: First Embellish Concert
2007: First Campana Concert
2009: First Bellistic Concert (Bellistic Conductors: Kurt Stroh and SuLin Kotowicz)
Number of Alumni
74 Embellish alumni
68 Campana alumni
Locations Performed
States
Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia
Countries
France
Conductors Worked with
Lee Afdahl
Don Allured
Greig Ashurst
Dave Harris
Bill Payne
Arnold Sherman
Jason Wells
Embellish Honorary Associate Director: Fred Gramann
Recordings
Colors of Bronze (2001)
Embellish the Season (2005)
GIA Recording Ensemble (2010-2018)
Celtic Dreams (2019)
Notable Concerts
Pinnacle Conferences: Addison, TX (2004); Nashville, TN (2010); Wichita, KS (2025)
Director’s Seminar in Saginaw, MI (2002)
Premiere of the Polar Express movie gala event (2004)
National Festival Conference in Dayton, OH (2006)
Area 1 conference in Orono, Maine (2009)
Area 8 conference in Davenport, IA (2014)
Area 5 Conference at Mackinac Island, MI (2019)
Collabs
State/National Collaborations
Agape Ringers (Chicago, IL)
Capitol City Ringers (Lansing, MI)
Detroit Handbell Ensemble (Detroit, MI)
Raleigh Ringers (Raleigh, NC)
West Michigan Collaborations
Grand Rapids Symphony; Grand Rapids Women’s Chorus; Calvin University Women’s Chorale; Grand Rapids Chamber Chorus; Grand Rapids Guitar Quartet; Christina Fong (violin); Ken Bos (organ); Bill Vits (percussion); Rich Ridenour (piano); Martin Werner (Whistler); Brian Morris (guitar); Grand Rapids Symphonic Band; West Michigan New Horizons Band; Ransom Street Big Band; Jubal Brass; East Grand Rapids High School Madrigals; Forest Hills Northern Choirs; Jenison High School Chamber Singers; West Michigan Opera Project; Kevin Kammeraad and the Cooperfly Puppet Troupe; Muskegon Chamber Choir; Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys
Meet Our Ringers
The handbell ringers who make up Embellish are a dedicated group of musicians who are committed to changing the world with handbells!
Nathan Biller
Year first joined: 2005
A hidden talent: Can solve a Rubik’s cube in under 3 minutes.
Debi Buer
Year first joined: 2019
Other instruments played: I’m learning to play the mandolin!
Russell Cooper
Year first joined: 1999
Other instruments played: Cajon, djembe, bodhran, trombone, all satisfactorily.
Dawn Franchetti
Year first joined: 2018
Other instruments played: Flute/piccolo, keyboard, percussion.
Arianna Hiskes
Year first joined: 2018
The strangest food I enjoy: Cuy Chactado: Peruvian fried guinea pig. It’s better than it sounds!
Lauri Hoff
Year first joined: 2005
The strangest food I enjoy: Unusual but not strange: melted M&Ms. Microwave for 30 seconds. YUM!
Penny Kindraka
Year first joined: 2024
Other instruments played:
I’m a lyric coloratura soprano. “Voice” is certainly an instrument!
Laura Jen
Year first joined: 1996
The strangest food I enjoy: Ba Bao Fan
Julie Kruse
Year first joined: 2004
Other instruments played: Trombone for real; piano for fun. Plus car and shower singing!
Melissa Reiffer
Year first joined: 2002
Other instruments played: I’ve played the violin since I was 3 years old!
Cindy Reimink
Year first joined: 2012
A hidden talent: I don’t need a timer when I bake cookies. My nose knows.
Lisa Sandee
Year first joined: 2003
The strangest food I enjoy:
I don’t enjoy strange food. If it’s strange, it shouldn’t be eaten.
Courtney Sheffer
Year first joined: 2016
The strangest food I enjoy: Thai food with ZERO spice (give me the flavor, but not the heat!)
Melanie Tolsma
Year first joined: 1997, 2023
The strangest food I enjoy: Boiled peanuts, especially at sporting events!
Russell Van Vlack
Year first joined: 2019
Other instruments played: Everything but the flute. I can’t play the flute. You’d only laugh.
Hannah Wheaton
Year first joined: 2018
Other instruments played: Getting back into piano has been one of my post-college projects
Dennis Willemsen
Year first joined: 2008
A hidden talent: I can avoid answering questions about myself in 70 characters or less.
Heather Willemsen
Year first joined: 2008
The strangest food I enjoy: Nerds Gummy Clusters – introduced to me at an Embellish snack time!
Music Director: Brenda E. Austin
Year first joined: 2023
Brenda is a dynamic and energetic conductor, clinician, and composer, who has led numerous festivals and workshops, both nationally and internationally. She has more than 100 titles (and counting) of published handbell and sacred choral works.
Embellish is thrilled to take part in debuting some of her compositions and arrangements during our concerts!
Meet Our Alumni
The Embellish Family is so fortunate to count all of the below ringers as members of our handbell family, each of who has contributed to our 30-year legacy.
Embellish Alumni
Ginny Ahrens
Joanna Allerhand
Leann Arkema*
Maria Gort Ashley
Carla Avink
Luanne Barnes*
Brian Bartusch*
Pamela Bayes*
Nathan Biller
Leslie Blessing Ver Duin
Ruth Brook
Debi Buer
Susan Burns
Heber Campos
Sue Cobb
Ryan Colburn
Russell Cooper
Barb Copeland
Linda Coppard
Dick Duyser
Tammi Troost Elenbaas
Leigh Englebrecht
Gretchen Fenner
Kim Finison
Lorraine Finison
Kelly Fornwalt
Dawn Franchetti
Kari Fuller
Sharon Gardei Grace
Mike Goodenow
Kathy Hadley
Kristen Hammond
Lisa Harris
Julie Kruse
Lauri Skrzycki Hoff
Stacy Holtsclaw
Susan Hooker*
Laura Jen
Janet Johnson*
Penny Kindraka
SuLin Ellerbrook Kotowicz
Vera Kuswanto
Della Landheer*
Kathie McLeod*
Marty Neifer
Brian Oliver
Martha Persak
Scott Pfitzinger
Scott Ponzani
Melissa Johnson Reiffer
Cindy Riemink
Michele Robinson*
Laura Rzeszut Van Vlack
Hanna Schmiedeknecht
Pam Wiersma Schwallier
Courtney Sheffer
Summer Silvieus
Lisa Skrzycki Sandee
Lois Slack*
Laura Sparks
Kurt Stroh
Lynda Tiggleman
Arianna Tolsma Hiskes
Melanie Tolsma
Roberta Trahan-Grabiel Ulch
Lisa Vandertol
Russell Van Vlack
Hannah Wheaton
Rose Wiersma
Dennis Willemsen
Heather Willemsen
Carl Wiltse*
Stephanie Wiltse*
Brenda Austin
*denotes Embellish Charter Member
Campana Alumni
Joyce Altena
Mike Akhurst
Jackie Barber
Linda Bartusch
Paula Berg
Joan Bissonnette
Nikki Blake
Becky Bosch
Debi Buer
Liz Bullock
Pam Conquest
Phyllis Correia
Amy DeBoer
Diane DeVries
Shirley Diemer
Carol Dykhouse
Patrick Farrell
Esther Franklin
Tabitha Frazier
Jackie Garvin
Mel Garvin
Joe Geelhoed
Lia Gelder
Becky Jen Getz
Sarah Greenwood
Jan Gurd
Nancy Heffron
Carrie Holstege
Stacy Holtsclaw
Susan Hooker
Joe Houdek
Louisa Houskamp
Penny Kindraka
Kristen Kramer
Sheri Lucas
Victoria MacKellar
Delia Mapes
Lori Martin
Heather Milton
Linda Myers
Tyson Nayback
Susan Newsom
Marilyn Ossentjuk
Lori Overbeek
Jane Reardon
Elizabeth Reed
Stephen Rumler
Pat Sanders
Susan Samsell
Barbara Schoenborn
Courtney Sheffer
Nikki Simons
Lane Stewart
Anastasia Tafelsky
Diane Thompson
Melanie Tolsma
Patricia Troost
Linda VanDenBerg
Melissa VanDyken
Laura Van Vlack
Russell Van Vlack
Angela Wagenveld
Amy Wallenburg
Linda Wilkey
Dennis Willemsen
Heather Willemsen
Kris Wright
Don Youngkin
Linda Zimmer
Special Thanks
Thanks to the generous supporters of the Embellish Family
Donors
Ringers Circle
Dale & Elizabeth Deppe
Linda Myers, in Memory of Shirley Myers
Ric & Stephanie Wiltse
Patron
Terry & Ken Reimink
Susan Stoddard
Donor
Linda Burpee and Sara Smolenski
Caroline Downing
Esther Franklin
Lauri Hoff
Enoch & Nancy Jen
Jim & Penny Kindraka
Melinda Kopec
Deb & Jess Larson
Ron & Joanne Rozema
Pat Sanders
Mike & Judy Skrzycki
Supporter
Debra Buer
Deborah DeVoe
Janet Dykema
Esther Franklin
Rich & Nancy Kitchen
Paul & Ellie Kotowicz
Steven & Janet Peters
Sharon & Keith Scott
Hannah Wheaton
Friend
Linda Bartusch
Becky Bosch
Carol Dykhouse
Patrick Farrell
Mr. & Mrs. Lynn Francis
Sarah Greenwood
Louisa Houskamp
Calvin & Karen Jen
Elizabeth Reed
Barbara Schoenborn
Nikki Simons
John Sullivan
Anastasia Tafelsky
Diane Thompson
Amy Wallenburg
Kristin Wright
Donald Youngkin
Linda Zimmer
Thank You
Special thanks to the Salvation Army Kroc Center; Faith Community Church of West Michigan; Dennis and Heather Willemsen (our trailer transporters); our fabulous Board of Trustees; our Honorary Associate Director Fred Gramann; and the great music directors over the years who helped Embellish grow to where we are today: Carl Wiltse, Stephanie Wiltse, and Brenda E. Austin. Cheers to the next 30 years!
Embellish is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization; your support via financial donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Local Arts
Thank you to the The West Michigan Arts Council for their ongoing support of the Embellish Family.
