Susan Carscadden-Mifsud (left) has a passion for handbells. They are the focus of her professional life as well as her avocation. She is one of Canada’s most accomplished handbell soloists, a noted conductor, and a clinician who has shared her expertise and love of ringing with directors and choirs across Canada. Based in Ingersoll, Ontario, Susan is the sole proprietor of Handbell Graces and a Regional Independent Sales Representative for Schulmerich Carillons, Inc. Susan’s formal music education includes an ARCT (Piano Performance), a Bachelor of Music (University of Western Ontario), and a Bachelor of Education (Queen’s University). She has been an elementary school teacher, a private piano instructor, and a music school administrator, but in the world of handbells, Susan ranks among the best.
Susan was first introduced to handbells in 1975 and has played in several advanced handbell choirs, including Bronze Foundation, an auditioned ensemble in Toronto. She is founder and director of two handbell ensembles: Bells Ablaze, a full choir of eleven ringers from across Southwestern Ontario, and the Bellissima Ringers handbell quartet. One of Canada’s most advanced handbell small ensembles, the Bellissima Ringers are active throughout southwestern Ontario and beyond. The quartet has appeared in concert with the London-based semi-professional brass ensemble, BRASSROOTS, and performed at Guelph Fest. It formed the core of choirs that performed at the Stratford Summer Music Festival, and in special Christmas concerts with Orchestra London Canada. In 2003, the Bellissima Ringers played the handbell part in the Toronto production, broadcast nationally on CBC-TV, of Benjamin Britten’s Noye's Fludde, and in 2004, reprised this performance as part of a tribute to Nicholas Goldschmidt (The Joy of Niki) at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. In July 2005, the quartet performed at the Canadian handbell festival, the Ringing Link, in Penticton, BC at which Susan was a massed conductor. Susan and the quartet combined this appearance with a short tour of BC, presenting two concerts in Vancouver, one on Gabriola Island and another in Kelowna.
As a handbell soloist, Susan has performed at The Women’s Canadian Club, on the UWO Don Wright Faculty of Music’s Fridays at Noon concert series, at Guelph Fest and at Covent Garden Market in London, Ontario. She was a guest artist at the National Conference of Music for Young Children in Quebec City and at the Huntington Summer Festival of Church Music in Sudbury. Susan has given numerous solo recitals throughout Ontario in churches, at special events and at music conferences in Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia. Whether performing for handbell enthusiasts or the uninitiated, Susan never fails to impress and amaze her audience.
“Through her fluid musicality and careful interpretation, Susan is able to win over the most resolute handbell skeptics and make them "converts" to the expressive power of handbell music!” (Dr. Robert Hall, Associate Professor at Laurentian University Department of Music). Susan has an extensive repertoire suitable for both sacred and secular occasions.
Susan is also very active as a workshop clinician. She offers a comprehensive range of sessions that she will customize to meet the needs of ringers and directors who range from the complete novice to the advanced. Susan has also presented numerous solo and choir workshops at provincial, national and international festivals. Whether working with a large group or with a single choir or soloist, Susan is an encouraging teacher. Workshop participants comment on her expertise and her ability to make learning a fun and exciting experience.
In addition to Bells Ablaze and Bellissima Ringers, Susan currently directs the Ringing Stars at Westminster United Church in Thamesford, Ontario, and she directed the challenge choir at the 2007 East Ontario Spring Ring. In addition to her considerable experience as a bell choir director, and building upon her appearance at the Ringing Link, Susan is now establishing herself as a conductor of massed ringing. She returns to British Columbia in 2008 to be the massed conductor for the BC Guild of English Handbell Ringers Spring Ring and she was recently chosen to be the Canadian conductor at the International Handbell Symposium in Orlando, Florida in August 2008.
Susan has had private coaching with, or has rung under some of the most highly regarded names in the handbell world, including Donald Allured, Nancy Hascall, Hart Morris, Cynthia Dobrinski, Bill Alexander, Michael Kastner, Kevin McChesney and David Jordan. A charter member of the Ontario Guild of English Handbell Ringers, Susan has an extensive history with the Guild, having served on the executive, and attended, performed at, been a member of or chaired the organizing committee for every OGEHR festival since its inception in 1985. She attended and performed at Ringing Link national festivals in 2000, 2002 and 2005. A long-time participant at Donald Allured’s Week of Handbells in Bay View, Michigan, she also attended the SEE (Solo to Ensemble Extravaganza) in Colorado (2003).
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