Liz Alton

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Lizzie Alton started ringing handbells during college. After moving to Vermont, she joined the Currier Handbell Choir at the First Congregational Church of Essex Junction. She joined Northern Bronze in 2008 and is thrilled to be ringing with such a talented group. Lizzie's musical background includes singing, playing clarinet, recorder and guitar and listening to music of all genres. Lizzie is a practicing veterinarian and owner of a small animal hospital in South Burlington. When not ringing, she fills her free time with coaching, steering, and paddling dragon boats, curling (yes, on ice!), birding, cooking, reading, gardening and knitting.

Jerilyn Bergdahl

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Jerilyn directs three bell ensembles: Northern Bronze; Bells of Ascension, which she started; and the bell ensemble at Wake Robin Retirement Community. Jerilyn's music education began early with piano, organ and voice. She also directs vocal choirs and sings with Bella Voce Women’s Chorus. A love of science led her to various degrees: BS, MS and MEd, and careers as a medical technologist, plant researcher, and high school chemistry and biology educator. "Retired" since 2006, she enjoys hiking, skiing, kayaking at her cottage on South Pond, and sitting with a great book.

Jeannie Cushman

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Jeannie joined the bell choir at Grace Congregational UCC in Rutland in 1988. She rang with the New England Ringers from 2000-2010, and has attended national Pinnacle and Distinctly Bronze events more than ten times She joined Northern Bronze in 2018. Her parents met in church choir, so raised Jeannie to sing in church and also to take piano and violin lessons. She’s been singing more in recent years, with Maiden Vermont in Middlebury, with the VSO Chorus, and with Trillium (VNA hospice group). She skis as a volunteer Killington Ambassador and is a retired home health physical therapist.

Diantha Howard

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Diantha lives in Grand Isle, and has been ringing handbells for about 10 years at the Congregational Church of South Hero, where she is also the choir director. Diantha joined Northern Bronze in 2015. Diantha is an Informatics Specialist/Statistician at UVM College of Medicine, and in her "spare" time she enjoys quilting, sewing doll clothes, designing costumes for Lyric Theatre, and exploring her family's genealogy.

Marilyn Marshall

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Marilyn has been playing bells since her father started directing a handbell group while she was in college. Frequent calls from dad to serve as a last minute substitute quickly led to interest in this art form. She played for handbell groups in Iowa and in California for over 20 years before joining Northern Bronze in 2009. Marilyn's early music education was on the flute, violin and piano and she is still known to pull those skills out on occasion. She also loves gardening and teaching math in her home town of Jericho. Marilyn hopes that the joy she feels when playing bells is shared by the audience.