Bells of the Sound



		2013 Roster: Shirley Lindberg \| Scott Barker \| Erin Hersey Rich Irish \| Emily Kubischta \| Elliot Lewis Jillian Lewis \| Wendy McPhetres \| Robin Pentland Phyllis Rowland \| Lyn Tober \| Jennifer Vangolen Bryant Wilkie \| Vanessa Wilkie \| Matt Winningham

		Shirley Lindberg a native Seattleite, graduated from Boise State University with a BA in Sociology and a minor in Music and she also has a Masters of Public Administration from City University in Seattle. She works in downtown Seattle for Perkins Coie LLP, an international law firm. Shirley is active at Tibbetts United Methodist Church where she directs the handbell choirs, and performs as an accompanist and soloist. Shirley, husband Myron and son David, also a gifted musician, live in West Seattle.

		Scott Barker is the Director of Music at St. Peters United Methodist Church in Bellevue. He is also General Manager of 3R Technology, an electronics recycling company in Seattle. In his spare time, Scott is the reigning bow saw champion of Sutton, Massachusetts.

		Erin Hersey is in her first season with Bells of the Sound. She and husband, Devin, have 3 teenage boys: Kyle, Ryan, and Keeton. Apparently they don’t keep her busy enough; she manages to find time to volunteer in the Kent School District and for Northwest Harvest, and to indulge in her hobbies of square dancing, backpacking, bicycling, sailing, knitting, and quilting.

		Rich Irish is originally from Eugene, Oregon and holds a BA in Accounting from Western Oregon University. He is currently a financial analyst with Community Health Plan of Washington. Prior to moving to Seattle, Rich was a member of Portland’s premier handbell ensemble, Bells of the Cascades. Rich and his partner Christopher have a new Green Built home in West Seattle and are enjoying their new vegetable garden. Their 2 dogs – Dakota and Diva – also enjoy the garden.

		Emily Kubischta started playing handbells in 8th grade and has been ringing ever since! She has played with the High Plains Ringers and the Rocky Mountain Ringers in Colorado, where she received her Master's Degree in Five Element Acupuncture. When she moved back to Seattle in 2009, she promptly auditioned for the Bells of the Sound. In her spare time Emily enjoys yoga, singing, cooking, and watching movies. Emily and her husband Marc recently became parents to daughter Ada.

		Elliot Lewis was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from Yale with a BS in Math and Computer Science. A talented singer, Elliot has sung and toured with the Whiffenpoofs and currently sings with The Baudboys, an award-winning a cappella group made up of Microsoft employees and alums. He enjoys tennis, volleyball and softball and is a diehard St Louis Cardinals fan. Elliot is a past member of the United States Boomerang Association.

		Jillian Lewis is from Kent and currently is a biology student at the University of Washington. She still rings at Kent First Baptist Church, under her mother’s direction. She is proud to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a member of Bells of the Sound. An all around all-weather athlete, Jillian loves snowboarding, playing ice hockey and softball, and surfing. She and husband Elliot have a dog Sadie.

		Wendy McPhetres hails from Alaska and graduated from Willamette University with a degree in Music Education. An accomplished pianist, she teaches vocal choir to eager students at Mountain View Middle School in Bremerton. Wendy is the Education Chair for Area 10 of Handbell Musicians of America. When not attending HMA meetings or traveling with her choirs, Wendy enjoys downhill skiing and hiking.


		Robin Pentland is originally from Mississippi and holds several degrees in music including a Bachelors in Church Music, and almost a PhD in Musicology. She has switched careers slightly, however, and is currently an HR Generalist for a local biotech firm. Robin and husband Ken have two cats - Sophie and Mr. Tux, who provide hours of entertainment. Robin has a not-so-secret-now dream of visiting all 50 states before a certain birthday – she has only 12 to go. When not traveling, Robin enjoys reading, watching movies and playing softball.


		Phyllis Rowland is from a military family and grew up across the US. She holds an MA in Human Resource Management and currently works in HR for local non-profit Wellspring Family Services. Phyllis’ other career – she followed her father’s footsteps in the US Air Force – took her across the US (again) and to Okinawa, the Philippines, the Azores and Spain. She is currently studying Portuguese in preparation for trips to Portugal and in 2014 Brazil, where she plans to indulge her love of “the beautiful game”. Phyllis is also a Sounders FC fan, favoring Rosales and Lamar Neagle.

		Lyn Tober was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and currently works for the Northwest Clean Air Agency in Bellingham. In her first year with Bells of the Sound, Lyn is fond of international travel (she’s visited 17 countries), and enjoys playing tennis and dancing. She’s also a great baker, spoiling the group with many delicious treats.

		Jennifer Vangolen was born and raised in Hackettstown, NJ, and holds a BA in Chemistry from Brandeis University. She currently works for SunGard Higher Education on Vashon Island and is the Washington State Chair of the Handbell Musicians of America. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys playing with her two kitties Pim and Maaike, hiking and biking the Puget Sound region and skiing at Whistler, BC.

		Bryant Wilkie is a native Seattleite and is currently the handbell director at St Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Bellevue. He graduated from UW with a BA in Business Administration and (we love this part) also from SSCC with a degree in the culinary arts. In his spare time he enjoys lapidary, working with stained glass, and cycling and hiking the Pacific Northwest’s hills and mountains.

		Vanessa Wilkie hails from Queens, NY, and recently graduated from Bastyr University (congratulations!) as a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. She is completing her residency at Holistic Health Clinic in Tacoma. Vanessa also has a BA in Music/Piano Performance. She and husband Bryant have three cats – Midnight, Milkshake and Fatty (who hopefully doesn’t object to his name). Vanessa is an amazingly talented knitter and busy scrap-booker for the group.

		Matt Winningham is a home-grown Puget Sounder, with a BS in Business Admin from Central Washington University. He works for Uncle Sam and is currently taking more accounting courses at UW Tacoma. All that plus being a fulltime husband to Lisa and daddy to sons Erik and Alex apparently isn’t enough for Matt – he recently began a renovation project: rewiring the entire house, drywalling a kitchen, replacing pipes and building a new front porch. He wishes to thank Lisa for her incredible support and promises to be finished soon!


		*Bells of the Sound* PO Box 46606 Seattle, WA 98146 info@bellsofthesound.org