A Very Merry Holiday Pops!
A Note from Ben Shirley, music composer of “Little Bell”
The text and melody of the chorus in Little Bell are taken from the German Christmas carol, "Kling Glöckchen" - "Ring, Little Bell", by Karl Ensin.
Hearing Ensin’s carol as a young boy in Berlin is one of my earliest musical memories. Listening to it decades later unleashed a flood of memories of the first place I called home.
It was my profound honor and privilege to see the original version of “Little Bell” premiere in 2019 at the Midnight Mission homeless shelter in Skid Row, Los Angeles. The Midnight Mission was a place I called home for 26 months.
In 2022, the piece was reimagined for the Newark Granville Symphony Orchestra, and the forever home I’ve found here.