Well, my winter handbell travels have finally come to an end, and I have to disagree with that old saying. What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there! 

 

I had a fabulous time at my first 12th Night Handbell event in Las Vegas, getting to catch up with some old friends (even ringing the buckets in the front row with Brad!) and make new ones (hey to all you UNLV student ringers!). There are some of you on the Area XII membership roster who I met for the first time (shout out to Mater Dei High School!), and some who are now interested in becoming members. What a fabulous event, and I have to tip my hat to Janet Ty for continuing to make it happen every year (this year with help from Dixie Bailey and her daughter Denise)! I hear that Tim Waugh may even return next year (yep! he had a great time, too!).

 

And if I don't see you before, I look forward to seeing you all this summer in Davis as we usher in our 2010 New Handbell Odyssey!

P.L. Grove
Area XII Chair

DEADLINES!! Two very important deadlines are fast approaching this month. There are only 15 days left to take advantage of the early bird discount  for 2010 Handbell Odyssey in Davis from June 17-20.  In addition Feb. 15 is also the deadline for applying for the Saturday night Showcase concert for the Davis Conference.  If you want to participate in the Odyssey Ensemble for advanced ringers, applications must be in by March 1, 2010.  Excitement is building for this  unique and  new "cutting edge"  format which will permit you to study under several exceptional clinicians.  So don't delay - take advantage of the opportunity to  save a few dollars and be a part of this exciting conference. 

As was announced back in December, the Nominating Committee for Area XII is developing their slate of officers for their next election this spring.  Positions to be filled are Chair Elect, Secretary and Treasurer.  The Chair elect is a 6 year commitment and the Sec/Treasurer two years. Bylaws require two candidates for each office.  We hope each of you will give serious consideration to volunteering your special talents for one of these positions.  Area XII depends on its volunteers for leadership, and serving on the board is a way to make a difference.  It's your opportunity to help shape the organization and to give back what other volunteers have given you in the past.  I have now served six years on the board in appointed positions and the rewards have been many.  Serving on the board has provided a new avenue to channel my passion for handbells and has brought me into contact with so many interesting people who share my love of handbells.  It has been exciting to be apart of the planning and decision making for Area XII events and conferences. Serving on the board has been a  very rewarding, gratifying, and fun experience and I encourage those of you who would like to get involved to consider running for an office or contact our chair if you'd like to be considered  for an appointed position. 

Many of you have asked, "Where has Handbell-l gone?"  For those of you who aren't familiar with Handbell-l , it was an online digest, founded by Jason Tiller, and serviced by Rusty Sanders, where handbell directors and ringers could exchange ideas, ask handbell related questions, and keep in touch with the handbell community.  Unfortunately Rusty's equiment failed, and the Handbell-l as serviced by Rusty came to an end.  The good news is that a new temporary Handbell-l has now been organized through google groups.  If you are interested in subscribing  send an email to :
[email protected]

Happy Valentines Day!
Carol

The Marching Handbell Choir, which was formed back in 1987 for the sole purpose of marching in the 1988 Tournament of Roses Parade, will give their final performance on June 20, 2010 as part of the closing concert of the 2010 Handbell Odyssey Conference at UC Davis.  Nearly 200 ringers from California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado  marched in that parade back in '88.  The marching handbell choir, which was the vision of Richard and Carol Viselli of LaVerne, CA, became a reality due to Richard's experience working with local bands and various Tournament of Roses officials.  The difficulties encountered to reach this goal included forming an application process, establishing a budget, multitudes of paper work- insurance, housing, transportation,  music - selection, arrangements, publishing and distribution, Uniform creation, communication with 200 ringers (across several states), and bells- 16  4 1/2 oct. sets.  Ten different areas across the four states were established for individual ringers to rehearse once a month with leadership provided by local directors.  Mr. Ron Hoar was the Marching Instructor and an Executive Committee, Richard, Carol, and Nancy Jessup traveled to each area to give instruction in uniform marching techniques. 

    This unique choir made quite an impression in that 1988 Rose Parade, and many of the members felt that the organization should continue, so  they  continued to march over the years in such parades as the Fiesta Bowl Parade, Calgary Stampede, and at Disneyland.  Although their membership has decreased over the years, they have continued to march, even this year at the Patterson Apricot Fiesta Parade (where they were awarded 1st place in the band category), the Arroyo Grande Harvest Festival Parade, and the  Lights on Celebration in Hollister. On March 20, 2010 they will appear in the Murphys Irish Day Parade and in May at the Dixon May Fair Parade. 

Caroline Harnly (Pacifica) and Kika Hutchings (Carpinteria) have been with the group the entire 20+ years.  Several others have been with the group since 1989 including Carol Baltzell (Sacramento), Jacqueline Wan (Pleasant Hill), Marilyn Perry (Sunnyvale), and Gail Hybarger (San Jose). 

2010 marks the end of this unique choir; however, they will close their 23 years of existence with a big flourish at the Davis Conference as they open the closing concert.  At that time, they will present Area XII with a gift of their handbells which they are donating to the AreaXII Chime/Handbell Loan Program. Their generosity will help further handbell programs in our local schools.

The Marching Band will be just one of many outstanding features of this summer's 2010 New Handbell Odyssey, and we invite you to participate in honoring them as they celebrate their 23-year contribution to handbells in Area XII.

For complete information on the audition process Click Here.

 

The 2010 Area XII conference in Davis is right around the corner, and there are many opportunities at the event, including performance.

Area XII is now accepting applications from handbell groups wishing to perform the Saturday night showcase concert at the conference. Any group affiliated with an Area XII member is welcome to apply.

To be considered for the concert spot, send an e-mail to [email protected] indicating your interest to perform a concert.  Groups will be selected by a panel based on the following criteria:

• Unique and interesting repertoire
• Exceptional performance ability
• Technical ability
• Musicality

While a DVD of your group's performance is not required, it is strongly recommended in order to give the panel a better sense of your group's capabilities. If a DVD is not available, a CD must be submitted. Once your initial e-mail indicating interest is received, you will receive a reply e-mail telling you how to submit your recorded materials.

Deadline for applicants for the Saturday night showcase concert slot is February 15, 2010.  The panel intends to finalize its decision by March 1, 2010.

Soloists and small ensembles are also encouraged to apply. Now is your chance to show off your group!  Don't miss out on this unique and exciting performance opportunity.

The nominating committee is now taking nominations for persons to be considered as candidates for AGEHR Area XII Chair-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary. Elections will be held by ballot in 2010, and two nominees will be selected as candidates for each office.
 
SUBMITTING NOMINATIONS:  Those wishing to submit a name (including your own) into nomination should: 

Nominations must be accompanied by a statement/letter of qualifications by the potential candidate. This statement may be used for the candidate's ballot profile. Letters may be submitted via pdf or via regular US mail to the chair of the nominating committee.
 
POTENTIAL CANDIDATES: The Area XII Board is a diversified and inclusive group of individuals who share an interest in our instrument, but without gender or ethnic restrictions. To continue this focus for future Boards, the Nominating Committee will concentrate on candidates with one or more of the following qualifications:

NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR:  William Kyle,
[email protected]

Please welcome the following new member to AGEHR Area XII. 

Community Congregational Church, Benicia, CA.  Leslie Lessenger, director.

    The first ever Twelfth Night at St. Andrew's handbell festival on January 10, 2010 was an unqualified success!  Over 80 ringers came to Saratoga, CA to share their talents with each other and the audience of 125, and afterward got to know each other better with a potluck dinner.

    Among the groups participating were Ringtones, a quartet from Sacramento, Joyful Ringers, a handbell ensemble that provides opportunities to special needs young people,  pictured on the left,  an ensemble from the San Francisco/Half Moon Bay composed of members  from SFSU,Bell Appeal and Bells of Joy, Northminster Chancel Bells, The Bell System from Menlo Park Presbyterian, Bay Bells Lite,Brass Angel Ensemble from Northminster Presbyterian Church, and Bell Canto and Bells' Angels both from Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church


 Bell Canto, host choir from Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church and pictured on the left, opened the concert  with We Three Kings.  SFSU/Bells of Joy/Bell Appeal/ combined to play Cynthia Dobrinski's beautiful arrangement of "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" which featured Suzanne Butts on flute.  A new idea in mass ringing: an arrangement of O Come, All Ye Faithful, which came in four versions of different AGEHR levels, designed to be played simultaneously, made it possible for all of the groups present to play a complete arrangement tailored to their abilities. This wonderful arrangement was a stunning closing to the concert. 

Look for next year's Twelfth Night at St. Andrew's!

Workshop/Reading Session

Feb.5, 2010- 6:30 p.m.- 9 p.m.
Feb. 6, 2010- 9 a.m.- 3 p.m.

Cost: $5 for each session payable at the door.

Northminster Presbyterian Church
3235 Pope Ave
Sacramento, CA
Hosts: Mary Balkow and Mel Tully

Greetings from the Bay Area,

Wow!  There is so much happening in the bell world during the next six months and I want to do it all!  This is the time to plan ahead and take advantage of early registration discounts. 

The SF Bay Area Spring Ring on March 13 offers a variety of interesting classes for all ringing skills.  I highly recommend you attend this event! If you have never heard solo ringing at its best, you will be awed by Ruben Mendoza's solo concert and class instruction.  Maybe this is the year you register for the 4th Annual Intense Ring on March 12. Challenge yourself rehearsing 2 songs Friday evening under the direction of Monica McGowan, followed by performance in concert Saturday evening.  This year's Spring Ring even features a garage sale of handbell music and paraphernalia  offered by ringers and ensembles.  Don't forget to register for this great event!
              
If you're looking for something special to do on Valentine's Day, I suggest you attend Bell Appeal's Concert titled "Love Songs: Past and Present" at 2:00 p.m. Sunday February 14, 2010 at Metropolitan Community Church, 150 Eureka, San Francisco.  Bell Appeal and guests will play the best of classical romantic and popular love songs.  Grab your sweetie and join them.  Special guests include Megumi Yamamoto (violin), Stephen Gerard (cello), and Larry Pascua (tenor).  This concert would be the perfect prelude to a romantic dinner in the world's most romantic city by the bay!  

Another concert you won't want to miss is Kathie Fink's "Christmas Treasures" which will be given in Los Gatos and Pleasant Hills February 27 and 28. Kathie provides an amazing display of technical dexterity and at the same time rings with great musicality.    Check the calendar of events for all the details. 

Please send me info about your upcoming workshops and concerts in the Bay Area so I can promote your event in the Twelfth Tone Newsletter. 

Happy Ringing!
Beckie

Happy February to all:

 

I'm sure we're all pretty happy to see the end of January and all the rain.  Parts of our yard was under water, all quite sloshy.  Wonder if our area will have a wealth of blooming wild flowers in the next couple months.  It's so pretty when that happens.

 

I certainly don't hear much from anyone in this area, so maybe what I do know is what is happening.

 

On a personal note, my choir has been asked to ring for a wedding of one of our church members.  This is a first for us and we're really excited.  We shared four pieces of music so the bride-to-be could choose which one she wanted and, to our surprise, she chose all four!  Will let you know next month how it all went.

 

Listed below you'll find the Reading Session that's taking place Feb. 27th.  Mel Tully will be leading this event and he & Gail will bring a scaled down store for those attending to shop for their handbell needs.

 

Bakersfield has a full day agenda for their Spring Ring on March 20th.  I'm hoping to attend as an observer and I do want to take one of the workshops being offered.

 

Then April 17th, is the Central Coast Spring Ring and registrations are beginning to come to me by mail.  We have room for maybe 12 choirs, and I've a verbal list of choirs planning to attend.  So, if you're interested, please contact me for a registration form and any questions you may have about this event.  It's our 10th Annual Spring Ring and we're hoping for a full house!

 

Don't forget the deadline for the Early Bird registration for the Davis Conference.  There have been questions about how the tracks work.  Just to answer a couple questions, the mass ring on Sunday will be with different directors.  Dr. Wililam Payn, Debbie Rice and Michael Glasgow will each direct two of the massed pieces.  You are to purchase the music ahead of time and come as prepared as possible.  Orphan ringers are welcome to participate in the Sunday mass ring.  You can reserve a table and bring your bells & music & participate.  Again, refer to the information on the website.

 

The tracks on Friday & Saturday will be led by the posted clinicians.  While the main clinician will lead most of the classes in the track, there will be some smaller breakout classes led by an assistant.  Classes for the tracks will soon be on the Web, so I encourage you to keep checking the Area XII website for this updated information.

 

I hope I've been able to clarify some of your questions.  Be sure to check out the Area XII website for complete information on the Davis event. 

 

Have a Happy Valentines Day, a great Presidents weekend and, as always,

 

Happy Ringing

Shirley

Reading Session-February 27, 2010
Trinity Lutheran Church
940 Creston Rd.
Paso Robles, CA
Mel Tully, Clinician

Time: set-up & refreshments 8:30 a.m.
Downbeat: 9a.m.-12 noon
Lunch:(Bring your own lunch) Light snacks & drink provided
Bell/Chime Maintenance Class-1 p.m. (For those interested)
End of Day should be between 2:00 & 2:30 P.M.

COST: $5.00 per ringer

 

Happy February Everyone!

 

I hope this issue of The Twelfth Tone finds you well.  We are currently between rain right now and I hope you have been able to enjoy the much needed rain.  I have been busy with preparations for our LA Metro Spring Ring in March.  Don't forget that the Early Bird Registration deadline is Feb 13.  Space is still available, but please get your forms into the mail and save your choir a spot.  I am excited to announce that we will be offering 4 different classes at our Spring Ring!  In addition to being our clinician, Larry Sue will be teaching his Bass Bells class at both sessions.  Lisa Arnold, of Low Ding Zone will be teaching Beginning Bell Basics and Beyond the Basics.  Rudy Rodriquez will teach a class on Directing and Following the director.  I am also pleased to introduce Cindy Chaffee, a music educator and handbell ringer, who will teach Rhythms Made Easy.  

      A mailing with the Spring Ring and Advancing to Bronze information and registrations forms  went out in mid-January to the LA Metro AGEHR members.  If you did not get one or are having trouble getting the forms  from the website please let me know, I will help you!  Need some extra time to get a check processed?  Drop me an e-mail with the important information about your group and that will save you a place until the check is ready!

     Larry has prepared rehearsal notes for our Spring Ring repertoire.  The links were included in the mailing.  I am working to get them up on our website.  These will help you in preparing for our concert on March 13.

     Advancing to Bronze is an opportunity for ringers seeking a challenge to stretch their wings and try their hands at two level 4 pieces from the Distinctly Bronze West 2009 repertoire.  Individual Ringers are most welcome to attend this event.  A2B ringers will then share their work by presenting those pieces at the Spring Ring Concert on Saturday afternoon.  Information for both events can be found below.

     Please Mark your calendars for Sunday March 14th at 4:00pm. Low Ding Zone is presenting a concert in Long Beach.  I believe this is the first concert they have presented in So Cal that was not part of a conference.  They put on a great concert.  Hope to see you there!

       Also, don't forget to register for the 2010 Ringers Conference at UC Davis.  The details are mentioned earlier in this newsletter.

       News from our area has been very light!  Please let me know what is happening in your group, so I can share!  This can be a concert announcement or Workshop, or something cool your choir has done.  We want to know about bells in the LA region.

     As an FYI, I will be out of town Feb 24 - March 1 while I am attending Distinctly Bronze West in Bremerton, WA.  I will have limited access to e-mail and my repsonses may be delayed while I am gone.

 

Here is the perfect opportunity to advance your skills to a bronze level with this two day event beginning Friday March 12 from  7 p.m.- 10 p.m.  and continuing March 13, 2010  from 8:00-9:30 a.m. under the leadership of Larry Sue.  Los Altos UMC, 5950 E. Willow St., Long Beach, CA will be the host of this event.  Cost is $20 per registrant.  Contact Debbie Shaw at [email protected]  Click Here for more Information

 

Greetings SoCal Ringers,

    I am so excited about our Spring Ring!  I just came from Faith Lutheran Church, 700 E. Bobier Drive in Vista, where they have built an incredibly wonderful new addition to their campus.  You won't believe this facility!  It has a multipurpose room which will accommodate as many ringers as we can conjure up as well as an audience for the closing concert.  There are lovely, spacious conference rooms for our small groups and breakout sessions.  It will be a marvelous setting for this event!
    I particularly want to encourage ringers who have never attended a Spring Ring, new ringers, and level 1 and 2 choirs to participate in our Division A group.  Azusa Pacific music majors will be working during the morning with small groups refining the music from our festival repertoire.  This is such a unique opportunity to have individualized attention for learning various techniques and for recognizing the possibilities for growth.  Until we see other ringers, we don't realize how far we can reach. (I saw concert choirs at National in Tucson last summer doing things with bels that I had neer even imagined!
    The day's schedule as well as the registration form is available by clicking here. 
 Break out sessions for level 3 & 4 will include sight reading new music from our vendor, Mel Tully of WestCoast Handbell Supply, and workshops enhancing performance beyond the notes.  We encourage choirs to share a piece in the final concert at 4:00 p.m.

Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions you might have.

Ruth

Howdy!

Twelfth Night in Las Vegas was, in the words of some of my ringers, epic awesomeness! Tim Waugh was the conductor, so you would expect it to be great, but he really out did himself!  The groups were very well prepared, so we were able to create some extraordinary musical moments with Tim's leadership and positive energy.  Saturday was a long day, but it never felt that way because of Tim's incredible ability to keep us focused and energized.  The individual groups' solos were wonderful and added a lot to the final concert.  We weren't able to have Twelfth Night at our usual venue because of conflict, but it turned out to be a good thing.  Dixie Bailey and Janet Ty worked very hard to come up with another venue at the  Southpoint Hotel/Casino/Convention Center.  The ringing room was roomy and comfortable and had decent acoustics.  Those of us who came from out of town (probably over half of us) really appreciated being able to stay and eat on site. Thank you Janet and Dixie for making this event such a success.
    I hope to see all of you at the 8th Annual Sierra Spring Ring on April 24, 2010 in Reno.  Details are below.

Barbara


            

                                                           

    

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