About tualatin valley academy handbells
It all started when…
In 1996 Jason Wells started a handbell choir at Tualatin Valley Academy in Hillsboro, Oregon. Through his talented leadership, that choir grew into Ring of Fire, an acclaimed handbell choir that was made up of 7th-10th grade students.
Ring of Fire traveled extensively, performing at 2 presidential inaugurations, performing with the Boston Pops, and doing numerous other concerts and TV appearances both locally and abroad.
Ring of Fire's final year was in 2005, at which time Jason moved across the country and was unable to continue the choir. Tualatin Valley Academy continued on, but Ring of Fire ended.
In 2015 Michael Blackburn, a member of the original Ring of Fire bell choir, felt nudged by God to restart the handbell choir at TVA. He gained the support of the school administration and staff, and TVA Bells was born. This year he has about 60 students in the TVA Bells program from 3rd-12th grade.
We get asked from time to time if the choir will be Ring of Fire again. When the students in TVA Bells are able to play with Ring of Fire's level of precision, musicality, and performance, all by memory, they will take on the Ring of Fire name.
Stay tuned to see where the kids go on this crazy journey!
#RingOn
Michael Blackburn, Director
As a founding member of the Ring of Fire handbell choir, Michael learned a lot about playing handbells with passion and precision, all from memory. He plans to share that knowledge with the next generation of musicians at Tualatin Valley Academy, but he is asking them to take their skills in a new direction. His vision is for TVA Bells to be innovative and exciting; utilizing new performance platforms and non-traditional music.
How to Become Part of TVA Bells
Tualatin Valley Academy students in grades 3-6 are welcome to join TVA Bells. TVA students in grades 7-12 are welcome to participate in our Beginner/Intermediate choir or audition to be part of our Advanced handbell choir. Handbell choirs are much like a team sport - everyone must be present in order for the group to succeed. Because of this, students are expected to be at all practices and performances. For more information, reach out to Michael at bells@tualatinvalleyacademy.org.
Performances
Students will be performing regularly at our constituent churches at Christmas and in the spring, and at other sites in our community as opportunities arise. If you would like to request a performance, please contact Michael Blackburn at bells@tualatinvalleyacademy.org.
2025-2026 Performance Dates:
Saturday, October 4 at 11:15am - Sunnyside Adventist Church
Tuesday, December 2 at 6pm - Friends and Family Concert in the TVA Gym
Thursday, December 4 at 5pm - Washington Square Mall, near Nordstrom and Williams Sonoma
Saturday, December 6 at 10:45am - Forest Grove SDA Church
Saturday, December 6 from 5:10-7:20pm - Follow the Star, Holden Conference Center at the Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Gladstone, OR
Thursday, December 11 from 12-1pm - Hillsboro Rotary Club, Hillsboro Elks Lodge
Thursday, December 11 at 6pm - Shute Park Library
Saturday, December 13 at 9:30am - Beaverton SDA Church, Music of Christmas service
Saturday, December 13 at 3:30pm - The Springs at Murrayhill
Wednesday, December 17 at 6pm - Brookwood Library
Thursday, December 18 at 6:30pm - TVA Christmas Concert, TVA Gym, all grades
Saturday, April 11 at 11am - Hillsboro SDA Church
Saturday, April 18 at 10:30am - Hillsboro Spanish SDA Church
Saturday, April 25 at 11am - Forest Grove Spanish SDA Church
Saturday, May 2 at 11:30am - Crosspoint SDA Church
Thursday, May 14 at 6:30pm - TVA Spring Concert, TVA Gym, all grades
Saturday, May 16 at 9:30am - Beaverton SDA Church
Saturday, May 30 at 11:00am - Beaverton Spanish SDA Church
Sunday, May 31 at 6pm - TVA Bells Spring Concert, 5th-12th Grade
Help us grow
Both Ring of Fire's and TVA Bells’ extensive travel and energetic ringing style put a lot of wear and tear on the handbell equipment. Tables, cases, table pad covers, mallets and gloves all need replaced. Several bells need repair. All of that will cost around $6,000. Our program has grown so much that we now need to purchase more bells so that larger groups can practice at the same time, allowing more students to participate. We would like to add more of the big aluminum bells so that more kids can play in each choir. Those bells cost $3500-$6000 each, and it would cost about $60,000 for the whole octave. We were blessed to purchase an additional 4 octaves of bells used so that two groups can practice at the same time, and now we need to complete the 5-octave set. The cost for the remaining bells is about $20,000.
Also, because we feel music is important to kids' education, our aim is for finances to never be a barrier for a student being in the bell choir. We would like to raise some funds to help offset the costs of uniforms, travel expenses, etc.
Interested in helping out? Here’s how!
You can make a tax-deductible donation to TVA Bells through the school’s front office by calling 503.649.5518, by emailing tva@tualatinvalleyacademy.org, or by donating at the button below.
Donate your time and expertise - we are hoping to make video and audio recordings of the students performing and will need videographers, sound technicians, editors, and lighting.
