Meet the Members of River City Ringers
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Director Matthew Goodson has been Minister of Music and Organist at Abiding
Presence since July 1998. He has been playing the organ in church since
he was 16 years old. A native Texan, Matt has served Lutheran and
Presbyterian churches in San Antonio, Dallas and New York. Before Abiding Presence, he served
simultaneously as Music Director of Grace Lutheran Church and Assistant
Organist at First Presbyterian Church in downtown San Antonio.
A graduate of Winston Churchill High School, Matt studied voice
and organ at the University of Texas, San Antonio with Herald Stark and
Bess Heironymus, and organ at Texas Lutheran College with Ed Reike. He
has been awarded the Service Playing and Colleague certificates by the
American Guild of Organists and, in 2003, Matt was awarded the Ministry
of Music Award of Distinction by the National Religious Music Alliance.
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Stephanie Daniel- Assistant Director - began ringing handbells at Carterville
Baptist Church in Petal, Mississippi and continued with the University of
Southern Mississippi Carillon Handbell Choir under the direction of Dr. Larry
Smith. Stephanie is an Orff certified
elementary music teacher and has a private studio for clarinet and piano. She is also the contemporary worship pianist
and Children’s Choir Director at Universal City United Methodist Church. She enjoys being a band director’s wife and
stay-at-home mom to her three well-behaved and adoring children.
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Barbie
Senkow – Barbie has been ringing bells for over 25 years with
"Plangentes Dei" Sanctuary Handbell Choir at St. Andrews UMC where she
also sings in the Sanctuary Choir. She is proud to be a charter member
of the River City Ringers Handbell Ensemble. Barbie worked for Joskes of
Texas, Dillards & Solo Serve as a retail buyer for 22 years. She is
currently employed with a financial advisory firm where she is a Senior
Registered Client Associate. Barbie enjoys reading, live theater, old
movies, entertaining & holidays! Barbie is married to Ken - yes
really!. They have 4 parakeets, Sunflower, Rascal, Billie and Mikie.
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Stephanie
Eickman - Stephanie has been a part of the handbell choir at Shepherd
King Lutheran Church for 9 years. She graduated from Texas Tech with a
major in education and a minor in music. She taught music for 6 years
before switching to teaching 2nd graders 3 years ago. She also plays
the clarinet and enjoys spending time with her family and friends,
especially her two adorable nieces Hannah and Emily.
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Keri Robertson started playing handbells at age ten and has been ringing ever
since! Before joining RCR, she subbed with Houston Bronze Ensemble. Keri is a
2nd grade teacher at Randolph Elementary School and active in her church. In
her free time, Keri enjoys playing the piano, scrapbooking, and decorating her
house.
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Mary
Bull has been
playing handbells for over 30 years. She was a member of the very first
handbell choir at Trinity University in the late 70s when someone
found the bells in a storage room and said, “Hey! Let’s play bells!”
She has
been a member of Plangentas Dei (God’s People Who bang on things) at St.
Andrews United Methodist Church and the Sanctuary Choir for 27
years. Other musical events include over two dozen plays in San
Antonio, most notably
as Sister Mary Amnesia in five separate productions of “Nunsense.” She
is
married to Steven who sings and acts and is the general manager of Ethan
Allen.
They have three daughters: Ellen who plays the cello, Emily – the violin
and
Stephanie who sings and plays the double bass. In her spare time, Mary
is the
Regional Account Executive for KTFM Radio.
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Stacie Brown - Stacie Silvus Brown - Stacie is a native of San Antonio. She is
currently the Music Specialist at Bob Beard Elementary and the director of the
Jubellee Ringers at Trinity United Methodist Church in San Antonio. She has
been ringing bells for over 20 years. She has one son, Tyler and several furry
babies. In her spare time, Stacie likes to do arts and crafts projects, play
computer games, and play the flute.
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Judy
L. Rittimann - Judy has been involved with music since the age of 8
including piano, saxaphone, marimba and steel pan drums. She has played
with and/or directed handbell choirs in Kerrville and Boerne since 1980.
Judy is an original charter member of the group. She and her husband
John live in Boerne and have four grown children and two grandsons. Her
hobbies include painting, reading, web design and traveling.
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Amy
Roberts - Amy Roberts has played in various bell choirs in Washington
State, Idaho, and Texas since 1983. She has been a member of the Lois
Fritze Handbell Choir at University United Methodist Church since 2002.
In addition, she has been a River City Ringer since Fall of 2006.
Since January 2006, she has been the lead children's librarian at the
Maury Maverick Jr. Branch of the San Antonio Public Library System. She
loves to do lapsit storytime for babies, toddler storytimes, collection
development and outreach to schools. In her spare time, she enjoys
reading, spending time with family and friends, traveling, spoiling her
niece and future nephew, playing the piano, doing counted cross-stitch
and collecting teapots.
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Trish Kauhaahaa - Trish is originally from Alberta, Canada but has been in San Antonio since
1995. She has been ringing bells since 2002 and also rings with the Lois Fritze
Handbell Choir at University United Methodist Church. Starting in the fall of
2011, she will be the director of the children's chime choir at that church as
well. She has 3 children that she loves spending time with, and is also a Labor
& Delivery nurse.
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Cyndi Erp - began ringing at Christ Lutheran Church of Alamo
Heights more than 20 years ago, but began ensemble ringing in earnest
approximately five years ago. She occasionally plays solos, duets and small
ensembles at church where she also sings in the Sanctuary Choir. She has been
involved in music since elementary school, primarily playing clarinet, bass
clarinet and flute. A certified exhibits and events professional, she enjoys
playing golf and watching Spurs basketball.
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Cindy Valentine - Cindy began ringing while a music major at North Texas
State University in Denton with the Mu Phi Epsilon music sorority. She
left school to join the U.S. Navy for 5 years before returning to
Stephen F. Austin University to complete her education with a B.S. in
Nursing and a minor in music. She works as an operating room nurse at
Methodist Hospital. She has rung with Lois Fritze Handbell Choir for 14
years and has directed youth bell and chime groups at University United
Methodist. Occasionally she rings bell solos during church services.
Cindy is married with four adult children and a granddaughter. other
than being a "bell junky", she enjoys gardening and various arts and
crafts.
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Kimberly Braswell- Kim has been ringing for most of her
life, most notably with Carillon of The University of Southern Mississippi. It
was here that she earned her Bachelor’s of Music Education with an emphasis in
flute. She is a native of the New Orleans area and relocated to Texas with her
husband Jeremy, currently serving in the USAF. Her children include two
beautiful blondes; Macy the lab and Leo the cat. Her passion is teaching and in
what little spare time she has she enjoys crocheting, cooking, and
participating in community music groups.
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