Meet Our Ringers
Ringer Bios
Karen Armstrong, 2021
I have been playing handbells for more than 30 years. I started ringing at First United Methodist Church in Kenosha and rang there for more than 25 years. While there I also directed Children’s Chime and Handbell Choirs. After moving to the Janesville area in 2016, I sought out churches that had handbell choirs and ended up playing in 3 handbell choirs, each playing on a different Sunday of the month. Having retired after 33 years of school based Occupational Therapy, last August, I auditioned for and I am delighted to have been invited to play with the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble. I am also pleased to be ringing with my son who joined the group in January. It is easy to see that I love playing handbells but in addition I enjoy hiking, biking, going for walks, kayaking, gardening, and Zumba.
Amy Bell, 2022Music has always been an important part of my life. I started by playing piano and flute through college. I was introduced to handbells in 2006, and have been playing them since, including directing our church youth handbell choir at Emmanuel Community UMC in Menomonee Falls. I’ve always enjoyed the challenge and friendships music brings to me. Along with my career as an optometrist, I enjoy hiking, camping, photography, and spending time with my husband, Jon, and 2 grown boys.
Jim Dahlgran, 2021I have been ringing for 30 years. I recently moved from Idaho to settle into retirement. I grew up in the midwest being a music vocalist, but found myself lured into the world of handbells, playing solos, ensembles and with larger choirs. I spent 7 years directing two different choirs in Idaho. In my other spare time I enjoy woodworking and all the kids/grandkids. I am truly honored to be playing with Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble.
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Tracey Bowers, 2003I started ringing bells in 1985 in 5th grade. I really started to enjoy the art of ringing handbells when I joined the Alleluia Ringers at Concordia University, WI. As a charter member of MHE, I am glad to be able to keep my passion of ringing active. I am also honored to be leading this wonderful group of ringers as the President. I am also an at-large board member with the Handbell Musicians of America (HMA). I am the Accounting Manager at a private company in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward. I enjoy scrapbooking, reading or riding bike in my spare time. I also enjoy spending time traveling or even just relaxing around the house with my husband, Brad.
Jessica Hastreiter, 2022Handbells have been a love of mine since I was first introduced to them almost 25 years ago. Since then, I have rung in church choirs in three states, and now ring with my husband at our church in South Milwaukee. I'm a pianist, vocal coach, and enjoy art song research and foreign language study in my spare time.
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Lynn Key 2021
My love of music started with piano lessons at the age of 6, and then I added clarinet in elementary school band. When my family joined Cross of Life Lutheran Church in Brookfield, now Unity Lutheran, in the late 1980s, I heard the bell choir play, and I joined as soon as I could, never having played bells previously. I’ve loved it ever since. Eventually I joined the church staff and have accompanied the adult and children’s choirs for over 25 years and am one of Unity’s organists. I first heard MHE when our church choir attended a bell festival about 5 years ago, and was so impressed with the level of performance and the fun they have doing what they love. When one of our bell choir directors and current MHE member approached me about auditioning for the group, I was thrilled. It has been such a great joy to ring with this wonderful group of musicians, learn new techniques, and share our mutual love of music.
My week days are filled with my full-time job at a local construction company, and in my spare time I enjoy reading and spending time with my family, 2 grown children, a grandson, and several grand-dogs. During the summer my husband, Jeff, and I also enjoy fishing and relaxing with extended family at the family lake home in Northern Wisconsin.
My week days are filled with my full-time job at a local construction company, and in my spare time I enjoy reading and spending time with my family, 2 grown children, a grandson, and several grand-dogs. During the summer my husband, Jeff, and I also enjoy fishing and relaxing with extended family at the family lake home in Northern Wisconsin.
Lydia Linendoll, 2018I am one of the newest ringers to MHE, but I've been ringing since I was a kid and it has always been a great way for me to play with great groups of people and have some fun! I am so grateful to be in an ensemble that will help me grow and expand my knowledge of bell ringing and I hope I can learn some techniques to help with my own directing.
Amy Mrosko, 2014I fell in love with handbells during my time with the Alleluia Ringers as a student at CUW and have since enjoyed directing choirs at different churches. I'm thrilled to be back in the Milwaukee area and to have the chance to ring with such a fabulous choir! My time stays filled homeschooling three fabulous kids.
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Kristine Morano, 2006I started playing handbells in 1994 with the handbell choir at St. John's Lutheran Church in Port Washington. While attending Concordia University for music education, I was a five-year member of the Alleluia Ringers. I now live in Fredonia and enjoy spending time with my husband, Tom, daughter Mikayla, son Tyler and family pup named Oreo.
Stacey Nordmeyer, 2015I have loved handbells for as long as I can remember and am thrilled to be a part of MHE! I learned to ring in 5th grade, rang all through high school, and toured with my choir both my junior and senior years. After that, I began solo ringing and working with the chime choir at my church. Currently, I direct one of the adult bell choirs at Unity Lutheran Church in Brookfield. Outside of MHE, I'm the Church Choral Editor for Hal Leonard. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, and I love traveling with my husband, Kevin.
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Jennifer Scheler,2003-2012, 2015I was first introduced to handbells in elementary school, continued ringing with the Alleluia Ringers at Concordia University, and was a charter member of MHE in 2003. Over the years, I have also been both ringer and director in church handbell choirs. As an agent with American Family Insurance, I have the privilege of protecting and restoring dreams in Wisconsin and neighboring states. I currently live in Pewaukee with my husband, Alex, and we have three grown children, all bell ringers.
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Noah Siem, 2021I started ringing bells during elementary school as part of Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester, MN. I rang there through high school, and then, in college, I rang sporadically as part of the Grace University Lutheran Church handbell choir. I am very excited to be a part of MHE where I can grow as a musician and share music with the local community! Outside of MHE, I am a project engineer focused on food and beverage manufacturing.
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Cacia Speckhard, 2022
I started ringing handbells in middle school with my church group, kept ringing through high school and joined CUW's Alleluia Ringers for three years during college. After graduation, I had a few years of a handbell hiatus, but I missed ringing and was excited to join MHE as a sub for the 2021 Christmas concert. Once I got started again, I remembered how much I love it, so I'm thrilled to be a full fledged member for the 2022 season! When I'm not hiking with my dogs, attempting to keep plants alive, or trying new things like brewing kombucha and learning Danish, I work overnight as an ICU nurse at various local hospitals.
“I love playing handbells,” Karen Armstrong, Whitewater resident says , “because a handbell choir is an ensemble in the truest sense of the word. An entire handbell choir is itself a single instrument, with each musician responsible for their one, two, or more notes in the chromatic scale, like the black and white keys of the piano. Rich melodies are achieved when the members of the ensemble play together. I also love that the handbell repertoire has increased greatly in the last 20 or so years with handbell music coming in a variety of levels of difficulty and in a variety of genres, from religious to secular including many arrangements of popular tunes.”
“I love making music with handbells.” Jim Dahlgran from Janesville says. “I have always loved music and have been active in it since I was 8-10 yrs old. Handbells are a unique instrument in the percussion family that not only ring, but have a now myriad of other playing techniques that provide a very wide spectrum of sound. What other instrument can you beat with a stick or slam into the table? The other reason is friendship and extended family of like minded musicians.”
“I love making music with handbells.” Jim Dahlgran from Janesville says. “I have always loved music and have been active in it since I was 8-10 yrs old. Handbells are a unique instrument in the percussion family that not only ring, but have a now myriad of other playing techniques that provide a very wide spectrum of sound. What other instrument can you beat with a stick or slam into the table? The other reason is friendship and extended family of like minded musicians.”
Former Ringers
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* Founding Member
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^ Current Member
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2003-2004Karla Bessert *
Tracey Bowers *^ Linda Carlson * Lauren Delancy * Jarrod (JR) Fenner * Debbie Frick * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Suzanne Hibbard * Iris Jastram * Shelley Lund * Michael Moeder * Jennifer Scheler *^ Karen Stabelfeldt * Kimberly Williams * Director: Dr. John A Behnke* |
2004-2005Karla Bessert *
Tracey Bowers *^ Linda Carlson * Lauren Delancy * Patrick Delancy Debbie Frick * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Suzanne Hibbard * Iris Jastram * Shelley Lund * Jennifer Scheler *^ Karen Stabelfeldt * Melodee Vogt Kimberly Williams * Director: Dr. John A Behnke* |
2005-2006Allison Bessert
Karla Bessert * Tracey Bowers *^ Karen Canapa Linda Carlson * Debbie Frick * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Suzanne Hibbard * Corey Janssen Penny Kindraka Shelley Lund * Jennifer Scheler *^ Karen Stabelfeldt * Melodee Vogt Director: Dr. John A Behnke* |
2006-2007Karla Bessert *
Tracey Bowers *^ Linda Carlson * Debbie Frick * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Suzanne Hibbard * Corey Janssen Erin Junger Penny Kindraka Shelley Lund * Kristine Morano ^ Jennifer Scheler *^ Rachel Strand Melodee Vogt Director: Dr. John A Behnke* |
2007-2008Karla Bessert *
Tracey Bowers *^ Linda Carlson * Debbie Frick * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Suzanne Hibbard * Corey Janssen Erin Junger Penny Kindraka Shelley Lund * Kristine Morano ^ Jennifer Scheler *^ Rachel Strand Melodee Vogt Director: Dr. John A Behnke* |
2008-2009Beth Bawden
Tracey Bowers *^ Linda Carlson * Debbie Frick * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Michael Grosnick Suzanne Hibbard * Corey Janssen Erin Junger Penny Kindraka Shelley Lund * Kristine Morano ^ Jennifer Scheler *^ Rachel Strand Katie Wierer Director: Dr. John A Behnke* |
2009-2010Tracey Bowers *^
Linda Carlson * Debbie Frick * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Michael Grosnick Shannon Grosnick Suzanne Hibbard * Corey Janssen Penny Kindraka Shelley Lund * Kristine Morano ^ Jennifer Scheler *^ Rachel Strand Katie Wierer Director: Dr. John A Behnke* |
2010-2011Ken Blake
Tracey Bowers *^ Linda Carlson * Laura Ellwein Debbie Frick * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Michael Grosnick Suzanne Hibbard * Penny Kindraka Shelley Lund * Joshua Moeller Kristine Morano ^ Jennifer Scheler *^ Rachel Strand Katie Wierer Director: Dr. John A Behnke* |
2011-2012Ken Blake
Tracey Bowers *^ Linda Carlson * Debbie Frick * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Suzanne Hibbard * Penny Kindraka Jana Larson Kristine Morano ^ Carl Reyes Anne Reynolds Jennifer Scheler *^ Rachel Strand Katie Wierer Director: Dr. John A Behnke* |
2012-2014
Tracey Bowers *^
Linda Carlson * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Suzanne Hibbard * Penny Kindraka Jana Larson Jason Lewerenz Joshua Moeller Kristine Morano ^ Carl Reyes Anne Reynolds Kelli Stenklyft Rachel Strand Katie Wierer Gwen Wiethorn Director: Dr. John A Behnke* 2018-2019Tracey Bowers *^
Linda Carlson * Lydia Clough^ Kaethe Grabenhofer * Suzanne Hubbard * Jana Larson Kristine Morano ^ Amy Mrosko ^ Stacey Nordmeyer ^ Carl Reyes Christina Rios Jennifer Scheler *^ Allison Schweitzer Kelli Stenklyft Rachel Strand Katie Wierer Director: Dr. John A Behnke* 2021 FallKaren Armstrong ^
Tracey Bowers*^ Linda Carlson Lydia Clough ^ Jim Dahlgran ^ Lynn Key ^ Kristine Morano ^ Amy Mrosko ^ Stacey Nordmeyer ^ Jennifer Scheler *^ Noah Siem ^ Cacia Speckhard ^ Director: Kaethe Grabenhofer * |
2014-2016
Tracey Bowers *^
Linda Carlson* Kaethe Grabenhofer * Suzanne Hibbard * Joshua Kramer Jana Larson Jason Lewerenz Joshua Moeller Kristine Morano ^ Amy Mrosko ^ Stacey Nordmeyer ^ Carl Reyes Jennifer Scheler *^ Rachel Strand Katie Wierer Heide Young Director: Dr. John A Behnke* 2019-2020^Tracey Bowers *^ Linda Carlson * Lydia Clough ^ Suzanne Hubbard * Jana Larson Kristine Morano ^ Amy Mrosko ^ Stacey Nordmeyer ^ Carl Reyes Christina Rios Jennifer Scheler *^ Allison Schweitzer Rachel Strand Katie Wierer Director: Kaethe Grabenhofer * 2022 SpringKaren Armstrong ^
Devon Armstrong Amy Bell ^ Tracey Bowers *^ Lydia Clough ^ Jim Dahlgran ^ Lynn Key ^ Kristine Morano ^ Amy Mrosko ^ Stacey Nordmeyer ^ Jennifer Scheler *^ Noah Siem ^ Cacia Speckhard ^ Director: Kaethe Grabenhofer * |
2016-2018
Tracey Bowers *^
Linda Carlson * Kaethe Grabenhofer * Jamie Haack Suzanne Hubbard * Jana Larson Jason Lewerenz Joshua Moeller Kristine Morano ^ Amy Mrosko ^ Stacey Nordmeyer ^ Carl Reyes Jennifer Scheler *^ Rachel Strand Katie Wierer Heide Young Director: Dr. John A Behnke* 2020-2021Tracey Bowers *^
Lydia Clough ^ Jana Larson Kristine Morano ^ Amy Mrosko ^ Stacey Nordmeyer ^ Carl Reyes Christina Rios Jennifer Scheler *^ Director: Kaethe Grabenhofer * 2022-2023Karen Armstrong ^
Devon Armstrong Amy Bell ^ Tracey Bowers *^ Lydia Clough ^ Jim Dahlgran ^ Jessica Hastreiter ^ Lynn Key ^ Amy Mrosko ^ Stacey Nordmeyer ^ Jennifer Scheler *^ Noah Siem ^ Cacia Speckhard ^ Director: Kaethe Grabenhofer * |
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