About Us

History

Though the group has officially been in existence since September 1997, some of the members began ringing together two years earlier when their church choirs quit for the summer. Those "ring-a-holics" had so much fun that a decision was made to form a full ensemble. The James RIver RIngers was chartered as a not-for-profit organization in June of 1998. Members have come from all parts of the Richmond metropolitan area, Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, and Harrisonburg. In 2023, the James River Ringers became Artists in Residence at River Road Presbyterian Church in Richmond.

Artistic Director

Christopher Titko (Artistic Director) is a native of Ohio, where he first learned to play handbells at his father’s church. He has been happily playing or conducting ever since. Educationally, Mr. Titko was privileged to study handbells with Donald Allured while attending Westminster Choir College. He is also a graduate of Indiana University with further graduate studies at the University of Oklahoma.  Christopher has served 10 churches across the United States as well as led the Jefferson Children’s Chorus, Kenner, LA. In addition, Mr. Titko was the Church Music Editor for the J. W. Pepper company. Presently, Christopher is the Lindauer Chair of Music and Fine Arts at Monumental United Methodist Church in Portsmouth, Virginia. He has three older children and enjoys cooking, traveling and watching movies.

Current Members

Jenn Earle started playing handbells in 4th grade in her church bell choir in New Jersey and is excited to be a member of the James River Ringers. Jenn works at Collegiate School as the College Counseling & Testing Coordinator. She and her husband Chuck have 2 grown sons. She enjoys yoga, reading, and exploring area hiking trails with Chuck and their dog Lola.

Jamie Floyd started playing handbells at age 12 in Lexington, VA and joined the James River Ringers for the Fall 2023 season. In addition to handbells, he plays piano, guitar, and brass instruments. Outside of musical pursuits, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, cooking, and playing disc golf.

Cara Griggs joined the James River Ringers in August 2002.  She began ringing with a church youth choir at age 13 and participated in her first quintet one year later.  In addition to ringing with the James River Ringers, she also rings with a church choir.  Cara enjoys her always-interesting career as an archivist.

Greg Guinther became a handbell musician in 1994 after moving to Richmond and hearing handbells perform at several churches.  Since then he’s played with a variety of church and community groups from Fredericksburg to Raleigh.  He enjoys ringing all positions at the table and thanks to the COVID lock-down, learned to produce YouTube videos where he does just that – plays all the parts.  Check him out on his YouTube channel IRINGEMnVA.

Laura Hinton started playing handbells in high school when her church acquired a new set of handbells and started a youth choir. After years of ringing, she served as Handbell Director at various churches in Northern Virginia, including 14 years at Lewinsville Presbyterian Church in McLean where she led five choirs of ringers ages 8-88. Laura’s work as a Systems Engineer brought her to the Charlottesville area, where she is excited to be a member of the James River Ringers and back to ringing again. Laura and her husband Mike are the parents of three grown children.

Beth Kamatchi started playing handbells in her church children’s choir at First Presbyterian in Virginia Beach. Other than her years at college, she played at First Presbyterian for almost twenty years. She is grateful to have found a group to play with since relocating to the Richmond area in 2022. Beth works in the financial sector and enjoys hobbies that gets her away from the computer. She loves to read, go hiking, and road tripping with her husband.

Juanita Lee joined the James River Ringers in January 2012.  She was introduced to handbells over 25 years ago.  Juanita's love for music continues to grow through her active participation in the handbell choir and playing piano in her leisure time.  Juanita is enjoying a new stage in her life: retirement.  She is gardening and spending quality time with her two sons, Robert and Anthony, and her dogs, Bentley and Ester.

Anne Ortman began ringing in 4th grade with her church's youth choir. She loved it from the start, and despite moving around a lot, has continued to ring with a group whenever she had a chance. Anne's husband is in the military, and his career expanded her wandering to all corners of the globe, and finally brought her to Virginia Beach, VA, where she had the chance to ring with a community group: the Virginia Handbell Consort. Now looking for an auditioned group to join is one of the first things on her to do list when the military takes her someplace new. This led to two years of ringing with Philadelphia Bronze. Now that she is living in Richmond, Anne is excited to be joining James River Ringers. When she is not ringing, she is taking care of her three kids.

John Pall joined the James River Ringers in January 2024. Born and raised in Michigan, John has had a love of music since an early age, taking piano lessons as a kid and studying clarinet and carillon at the college level. John serves as director in his local bell choir at MCC Richmond. He also plays drums and sings. In his free time he does some music composition and enjoys reading as well going on day trips with his wife when time allows. He is currently owned by one dog and one cat.

Dotty Parker has rung handbells for over 25 years, and played piano for over 55 years.  Dotty is now retired and enjoys football, college basketball and occasionally traveling to see grandchildren.

Sarah Partridge joined the James River Ringers in 2017. She grew up playing handbells in church ensembles. Sarah enjoys her work as an elementary school teacher. When Sarah is not ringing or teaching, she enjoys reading, kayaking, and gardening. 

Alex Schroeder has been an avid handbell ringer since the fifth grade.  She is originally from Indiana and has enjoyed being a member of many school, church, and community bell groups in every new city or state she where she has lived.  After moving to the Richmond area, Alex joined the James River Ringers in 2018 and now serves as the group's Vice President.  When she is not playing bells, you can find Alex spending time with her husband and two dogs or working in her day job in medical device regulations.

Hans Slechta started ringing handbells in a church bell choir as a teenager. An enthusiastic musician, he has sung with many church and school groups and has played cello and mallet percussion since childhood. In college, he developed a love for tower bells, playing a 21-bell chime. He joined the James River Ringers in 2023. Besides his musical pursuits, Hans enjoys reading, learning languages, and traveling with his wife.

Jennifer Smouse discovered how fun ringing handbells is when she moved to Richmond from Michigan in 2006 and joined her church choir. She then participated in all of the festivals, workshops and events that she could find to feed her newfound way to make music! She joined the James River Ringers in 2017. She bravely served as president of the James River Ringers through the difficulties of the pandemic. She has three children (two grown), loves hiking and caring for an assortment of furry and feathered pets.

Dena Vandagriff

Thomas Warren was introduced to handbells at age 10, playing D5/E5 bells and chimes. He played with the West End Assembly of God church for several years before joining JRR in Oct 2009. He’s an avid bass ringer, but enjoys the challenge of playing all positions around the table. He loves being a part of JRR, a great group of talented musicians. It has truly been a blessing in his life. Mechanical Engineer by trade, in his free time he enjoys home construction, 4-wheeling, shooting pool, archery, and also plays keyboard and acoustic guitar.

Sandy Welfare began ringing handbells during high school in 1986, when she played with a group largely made up of band geeks playing five octaves of White Chapel Handbells. She has played avidly since, in church and community groups in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Virginia. She joined the James River Ringers in January 2020 and is currently serving as the President of the JRR Board. Sandy works as an occupational therapist, and enjoys crafting, biking, and traveling with her wife in her spare time.

Dottie Tweedie is the founding director of The James River Ringers, and now holds the title Director Emerita. She continues to support JRR with her experience and expertise of the art in various roles as needed.  She has taught a variety of classes at Handbell Musicians of America’s Area III Adult Festivals, Directors Seminars and Bravissimo! In addition, she supports individual directors and choirs by providing customized workshops. She retired from JRR and her day job in 2016. The James River Ringers are grateful to Dottie for returning to serve as our interim director from 2021-2023!