The South County Community Handbell Choir (SCCHC) consists of handbell enthusiasts from southern Orange County, California, that love to ring and wish to share handbell music with the surrounding communities. The Choir began in November 2011 and has performed at care facilities, the 2011 San Clemente Choral Society Christmas Concert, 2012 - 2022 and 2026 San Clemente's Casa Romantica Christmas activities and has led more than seventeen Community Handbell Concerts for the benefit of San Clemente's Family Assistance Ministries. The concerts and our projects for FAM have raised over $38,000. We have sponsored "The Great Christmas Ring" at the Outlets for the past 10 years. In 2024 -2026 we played at the San Clemente Memorial Day Observance.
The Adult Choir currently has eleven active ringers and plays five octaves of Schulmerich Handbells and four and half octaves of Malmark Choirchimes.
The choir practices on Monday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. We are looking for additional handbell enthusiasts/musicians to join the Choir. If you are a musician, but have never rung handbells, we can teach you the instrument. If you ring handbells and are looking for additional opportunities to ring, come and join us. If you are interested, please use our contact page and we will contact you.
The SCCHC is entering its 15th year of existence, and this last holiday season we made the decision to move our concerts to The Casino San Clemente. This has allowed us to expand the population of concert attendees, consistent with our mission of Bringing Handbell Music to South Orange County, while serving the local community by giving concert proceeds to Family Assistance Ministries (FAM).
The SCCHC does not want to deal with the bureaucracy of being a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so up to this point the SCCHC has been self-funded through seasonal fees paid by the musicians, donations by the musicians, and occasional paid performances. With the move to The Casino and the rising costs of music, etc., we are now providing an opportunity for patrons to “sponsor” our concerts. Our goal is to raise $2500 for the 2026/2027 season (August to June).
Handbells are made of bronze, which is comprised of 78% copper and 22% tin, so it is only fitting that our sponsorship levels incorporate bronze, copper, and tin.
- Tin Level Sponsorship ($150) – Acknowledgement in the concert programs and on the SCCHC website. - Copper Level Sponsorship ($300) – Acknowledgement in the concert programs and on the SCCHC website, and a SCCHC Christmas ornament. - Bronze Level Sponsorship ($500 or greater) - Acknowledgement in the concert programs and on the SCCHC website, a SCCHC Christmas ornament, and an opportunity for SCCHC’s ensemble to provide a mini concert (approximately 30 minutes) at a mutually agreeable time and place.
If you would like to become a sponsor, please contact us at [email protected] to make arrangements. Please feel free to share this information with anyone that may be interested in becoming a sponsor of the SCCHC’s concerts. Thank you for your consideration of this request. (This donation is not tax deductible.)
