New ASO Bells Unique, Like the Musician They Honor

The new church bells at Atlanta Symphony Orchestra are remarkable for several reasons. First, they’re of a type that’s exceedingly rare in the US; very few orchestras own them. Second, they’re used in exactly one piece of music: Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, which the ASO is performing this weekend.

The third compelling detail about the new bells is the man whose memory they honor, an eccentric wit of a musician who played with the ASO for 49 years.

WABE’s Kate Sweeney paid a visit to Symphony Hall to talk with principle percussionist Tom Sherwood, about the bells and the unique man whose life they commemorate.