As I dragged out a HUGE stack of possible Christmas songs this year for my church choir, I began last week's rehearsal with a frown on my face. Our little group was about to enter December with the typical myriad of handbell issues: not enough ringers (and sometimes the ones who do come are flaky), folks who have their hearts in the right place but sometimes their hands are on the wrong bells, ringers who challenge us as directors and ringers who we must continually find ways to challenge, and a director of music who has no idea how hard it is to corral all of this melee into a cohesive song on a Sunday morning ("No, pastor, we cannot play Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring at next week's candlelight service - we need weeks to practice that...."). Sigh.

So I decided to dub the evening "kamikaze Christmas." We would play through that stack of Christmas pieces by rehearsal's end or die trying! By the end of the evening, I was out of breath and a little sweaty...and I had a huge smile on my face. Yup, it never fails. Somehow Christmas always manages to brighten up even this Grinch.

May the bells that you ring this December put a song in your heart and a smile on your face. Happy holidays!

P.L. Grove
Communications Director

 

Hi, everybody!

Advent is finally here and that means that Christmas isn't far behind!  Ringers all over SoCal are finalizing their preparations for the season.  There will be bells at the San Diego Zoo, bells in concert halls, bells in churches, bells everywhere!  Be sure to check out the special Christmas Eve and Jungle Bells calendars on the SoCal page as well as the regular SoCal calendar for a list of all the wonderful places you can hear bells this season!

Looking ahead past Christmas, I am pleased to say that registrations for the 2011 Bronze Vision event (part of the 2011 Spring Ring) are rolling in fast. The first choir is already more than half full & it's only the beginning of December!  Bronze Vision is limited to 28 ringers, so be sure to get your registration in SOON to make sure there's a spot for YOU!

Fortunately, there's no limit to how many groups can register for the main 2011 Spring Ring event -- in fact, the more the merrier!  There will be great classes, a director's round-table, a lunch-time concert, AND massed ringing under the baton of California's own Christine Anderson!  There's still time to take advantage of the "Early Bird Discount."  Don't wait; send in your registrations now!

Do you know of other events happening or have ideas for other events we should be having in Southern California?  Drop me a line and let me know!

Finally, are you on Facebook?  Head over to the Southern California Region - Area XII page for up-to-the-minute news about Spring Ring and other handbell happenings in SoCal!

My best,
-Michèle

Greetings from Central California!

Several performances are coming up this month, so if you haven't alreday, please take a look at the calendar. I hope you can attend one or two concerts.

Opus Handbell Ensemble recently teamed up with the Modesto Junior College Concert Choir and Chamber Snigers for an inspiring concert before an audience of 600. As a ringer myself, I know how exciting (and scary) it is to perform before such a large audience. But I heard many say that the handbells were the highlight of the evening, and that makes it so very worth it.

I was surprised, though, that quite a number of attendees had never heard handbells before. These days, it often seems to me that the audiences we play for have fewer and fewer who havene't already heard bells. And while they are certainly still aprreciative of what we do, there is just something extra special about knowing people are experiencing bells for the first time. I still remember my first experience. I fell in love with the sound of the bells ringing the first time I hear them at my church. No sooner had I expressed this to my husband, then he went to the director and said, "Kathie wants to play bells!" Well, as they say, the rest is history. That was many years ago, and I'm still ringing, but to this day, each time I hear that ringing sound I fall in love all over again.

Happy Ringing!

Kathie Mackie

Christmas arrived early at my house today! UPS delivered a special box with my music for the Bay Area Intense Ring and Spring Ring on March 25-26, 2011. Conductor Michael Glasgow is the guest director, and if you have never rung under Michael's baton, you are in for a rare treat! He is a little crazy, a lot of fun, and an extremely talented musician. For more information on this incredible opportunity, check the Bay Area page of the Area XII Web site.

If you just can't wait until March 26 for a day of ringing, this year marks the 16th Bay Area Handbell Festival in Oakland on Saturday, February 26. Festival coordinators P.L. Grove and Dolores Rhoads will once again take the podium as the conductors. Their combined 50 years of experience as directors, ringers, and teachers, as well as degrees in music make them well equipped to lead the day's events. Whether you're a beginning or more advanced choir, there will be music and classes accessible for your group. Watch the Bay Area web page for more information on this fun event as it becomes available, and contact P.L. Grove (plgrove@jps.net)  or Dolores Rhoads (doloresrhoads@gmail.com) to register.

Coming up even sooner is the second annual 12th Night at Saint Andrew's on Sunday, January 9, 2011. It's only $5 per ringer for afternoon's events, and the concert is at 5:30. Participants will also enjoy some food and fellowship at the potluck dinner following the concert. Again, more information can be found on the Bay Area page of the Area XII web site.

Christmas comes early for most bell ringers as we practice carols throughout the fall, knowing that the Christmas season will be our chance to really "shine." Although we hope our music will enhance the deeper meaning of Christmas, sometimes the glitz and glitter catches us up unawares. For one northern Nevada bell group - Tintabulations - that Christmas "shine" happened in a unique way.

The full moon glistened in the sky, as the ringers huddled between the giant, darkened Christmas tree and the thin shelter of a jutting store building. Sound technicians scurried, laying yards of electric cord, adjusting portable stage lights, and assembling microphones. Tintabulations' first Christmas gig of the season - the week BEFORE Thanksgiving - was performing at a Christmas tree lighting in an open air mall in Reno, despite the weather.

As we began to play, the wind tossed the music in a frenzy, ripping paper away from the clothespins. Instead of damping bells on shoulders, ringers frantically grabbed pages with whichever hand wasn't ringing. Crowds of shoppers and gawkers pushed and talked, shivered and huddled as they waited for Santa and the tree lights. With quickly numbing fingers, Tintabulations continued to play, watching the director for the tempo since they certainly couldn't hear one another over the roar of the wind and the crowd. As Santa came into view, the noise turned into cheers and then screams of happy excitement. Certainly, the ringers thought, no one was listening to the music!

As the last measure of the last song was played, Santa proclaimed "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!" And with a flourish, the song ended, Santa tossed glitter at the crowd (which the wind promptly blew into the ringers' faces), the tree was lit in showy splendor, and Tintabulation was suddenly backlit with a huge fireworks display.

Yes, we still hope our music will bring the true spirit of Christmas to someone. But Christmas "shine" does come in many ways. For one group, perservering against the odds was rewarded with fireworks and glitter.

Sarah Bigelow and Barbara Walsh

P.S.: Don't forget that January quickly follows December, and Nevada will host the 19th Annual 12th Night Handbell Festival on January 15 and 16 at the South Point Hotel. For more information, visit the Nevada section of the Area XII Web site or contact Barbara Walsh at nevada@areaxii.org.

Aloha!

Bells are ringing in Hawaii, and there are several chances to see both community and church groups perform holiday music. See the calendar below for more details.

Yes, it's still December, but you should mark your calendars now for Saturday, May 28, 2011 for the first Aloha Ring! We are still finalizing plans, but it's never too early to save the date on your calendar! And tell all your ringing friends in Hawaii that Tim Waugh will be our conductor for the day. Whoo hoo! Finally a Spring Ring in Hawaii....

Karen

Registration has been extended for a limited time for AGEHR's master classes this January in Tucson, Arizona. While Dr. William Payn's conducting classes are currently full, there are still spots available for those wishing to ring and observe (not conduct). For the master class in composition with Arnold Sherman, there is only one spot still available, so if you're interested, don't delay.

There is a new addition this year: a beginning directors' seminar with Bill and Carolynne Mathis. There are undoubtedly many directors who would have loved to have the opportunity to attend a session like this when they were first starting out. Now is your chance to get some one-on-one instruction from this incredible teaching couple from Minneapolis. Don't miss it!

And if you are "just" a ringer, there's an event for you, too. Last month's edition featured reports about Distinctly Bronze East, and Area XII has our opportunity to attend DB closer to home. There is still space available for ringers to experience performing advanced repertoire under the baton of Jason Wells. Bremerton, Washington is once again the host city for the four-day conference on February 24-27, 2011. If you haven't yet experienced the adrenaline rush, Jason will leave you believing in your heart that you can ring anything (memorized, too)!

Advertising Rates: 2010 Publishing Year

Two different types of ads are offered:

1.(a) An ad designed and formatted by you that is exactly 100 pixels X 300 pixels and sent in a jpeg or gif file. The ad will by hyperlinked to your website.

Cost:  $10 an issue    6 issues for  $54    11 issues for $94

1. (b) Ad  designed and formatted by you that is exactly 100 pixels X 600 pixels and sent in a jpeg or gif file.

Cost:  $18 an issue    6 issues for $97  11 issues for $168

2.(a) A 1.5in. X 4in ad which can contain a picture or logo sent as a jpeg or gif file and will be hyperlinked to your website. You provide the text that will be formatted by the editor. 

Cost:  $15 an issue      6 issues for $81    11 issues for $140

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Cost:  $27 an issue    6 issues for $146  11 issues for $252

Payment is due before publication.
DEADLINE is the 24th of the month

Please submit your ads to P.L. Grove, Communications Director via e-mail at info@areaxii.org.