Their music stunned us all. The four thousand audience members went wild, just as we knew they would.

Thanks, Sonos, for raising the level of our little family radio show from the comic to the cosmic to the something beyond.

Olympians of handbell ringers.

In a bold stroke of programming, the Symphony premiered the only known major work written specifically for handbells and orchestra. Sonos Handbell Ensemble ... joined conductor Michael Morgan ... in William Ludtke's bracing, immensely likable "Suite for Handbells and Orchestra" ...

What Sonos has, that Kronos and Chanticleer have, is the fanaticism that really translates to the audience.

The level of musical detail, the attention to that detail, and the striving for ever higher levels of technical and musical competence is really impressive to those of us running symphony orchestras.

The world premiere of William Ludtke's "Suite for Handbells and Orchestra" ... found 12 members of the Sonos Handbell Ensemble arrayed at the back of the stage ringing away as if they were exorcising demons. Watching the soloists brandish their instruments, attack them with felt-covered mallets and damp them on cue was a fascinating experience ... the encore, without orchestra, of a bit from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" ballet, was, as led by the group's music director, James Meredith, critically disarming.

Your music added a splendid visual and aural dimension ... I am particularly impressed by the range - the amazing range - of colors, dynamics and moods that you coax from the bells; somehow you have achieved that rare combination of virtuosity and musicality - all present with style, wit and professionalism!

Your group was fabulous ... What talents you have in your ranks. I absolutely loved the more avant-garde selections.

I was truly impressed by the musical range your group displayed. The playing was sensuous and exuberant. The audience was captivated with sounds they did not know existed, and the visual impact was hypnotizing. All in all, it was a musical feast for the senses and one that we shall not soon forget.

Your technique was impeccable. Your dynamics, perhaps the hardest to achieve on handbells, were thrilling. The choice of music gave a new understanding of how bells fit into the wide world of music.

The concert was the most beautiful handbell music I have every heard. I have heard lots, having been a leader of handbell choirs for 20 years. Your technique and precision are outstanding, but most memorable was the tone quality that you somehow have managed to obtain -- it is ethereal -- it sounds like one instrument played by one person instead of 58 bells played by 12 people. I hope to hear you many times again .. I would go many miles for the privilege.