Jim Winslett

Jim Winslett has been making music for most of his life. He began tinkering at a toy piano at age 3 and was hooked. In Jr High school, he took up trumpet in the school marching band, and it wasn't long before he was writing his own arrangements of songs he wanted to play, either because there was no sheet music available, or because he liked his version better. By High School, he was arranging music for brass ensembles, quartets, solos, etc. He attended the University of Houston, where he continued to arrange music for band. After college, he began work at UPS and later found a church home. It was this new aspect of his life that caused his mind to start hearing music again, and soon the arrangements followed. His biggest joy is arranging pieces for handbells, because he loves the challenge of having to create a piece that not only must take into account how it will sound, but also how it will be performed by a group of ringers that must work as a team to play a single instrument. He founded the handbell choir HeavenSound in 1993 and was the director of that choir until 2011.