I've been very, very busy.... 

But nothing has been more fun than preparing for a little pre-Disney Magic by way of a Treasure Hunt! You can read all about it below, but the upshot is that we're giving away some prizes to those who can find the "treasure" the fastest. And let me tell you - the prizes are nothing to sneeze at! I know, because I picked up most of them last month at Disneyland. I want to keep them for myself! Win them, please, so I will be saved from any transgression!

  

Let's make this really big...let's up the ante a bit. Do you know ANYONE who is not getting this enewsletter? Tell them about this contest and get them to subscribe NOW! (Subscribe by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom of the page.) They won't have a chance of winning unless they're subscribed. Face it - if you win a prize as one in 1,000, it's cool. But what if you were competing against many more than that and you won. Sooooo much sweeter. No more Big Fish, Small Pond syndrome. The Pond is now a Lake!

  

Let's create the lake...tell a friend. We're having a contest. Must enter (i.e. subscribe) to win.

  

P.L. Grove
Communications Director
[email protected]

 

 

 

 

Yo ho! If you're not like Jack Sparrow - who would go to World's End to find a treasure - there's still good news! Area XII's Disney promotional treasure hunt is coming this summer.

 

From August 2011 through May 2012, each Twelfth Tone enewsletter will contain a clue. Follow the clue and find the latest treasure on the Area XII web site. To win that month's treasure, be the first person to send an e-mail with the correct answer to [email protected]. Prize winners will be announced in the following month's enewsletter.

 

Here's a hint as to how you can prepare for the hunt and improve your chances of winning: go to the Area XII web site now! Start familiarizing yourself with where things are located and what content is already there. It will be easier to spot something new once it's posted.

 

Here are the official contest rules:

• Winners must be attending the 2012 Area XII conference at Disneyland.
• Participants must register for the conference no later than May 1, 2012. (In the event the conference is full before that date and future winners are not registered, those prizes will be forfeit and given to the next individual already registered who submitted the correct answer.)
• Participants must reside in Area XII (California, Nevada, Hawaii or Guam).
• Winners must be an AGEHR member or belong to a member group. (Winners will be asked to provide their AGEHR number and director's contact information for confirmation.)
• Participants must send an email personally - you cannot have someone send it for you.
• To be declared the winner, you must have provided ALL details outlined in that month's instructions or clue(s).
• Prizes will be distributed to the winners via their registration packet and may be picked up at the registration table at Disneyland.
• Winners must be willing to share their name and contact information with the other nine prize winners, in case they wish to exchange prizes. 

Watch next month's Twelfth Tone for a list of the prizes!

Yo ho, Yo ho!

 

Hi, everyone!

Now that we've had a few weeks to recuperate from the Southern California Spring Ring & Bronze Vision, I wanted to tell you what an honor and a privilege it was to spend the weekend with all of you (many of whom I met for the very first time)! With over 200 ringers in attendance from San Diego to LaVerne to Phoenix to Oakland, it was an exciting day. I had a fantastic time & hope you all did, too.

I do have 2 favors to ask of those who attended the Spring Ring and/or Bronze Vision events:

1. Could you please take a moment or two to fill out an anonymous on-line survey about your experience at Bronze Vision and/or Spring Ring? This survey will help us know what worked and what didn't, and (most importantly!) how we might improve the event to better meet your needs next year. Here's the link to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VGTCLST    
2. As with any event like this some items get misplaced. One of our participant churches is missing one piece of 3-foot foam (covered in white muslin fabric) and one blue bag used to carry foam (the bag is empty). Another of our participant churches is missing a black music folder (some of the music should be marked for the 5 and 6 ringer). If you accidentally took these things with you, could you please let me know?

In other news, the St. Thomas More Church in Oceanside needs a substitute ringer for some upcoming dates in May. If you are available for any of these dates, please contact Douglas Lynn, Director of Liturgy and Music, at 760.758.4100 x140 or via email at [email protected].

• Wednesday, May 4, 6:30pm rehearsal
• Saturday, May 14, 5:00pm Mass
• Wednesday, May 18, 6:30pm rehearsal
• Sunday, May 22, 8:30am Mass
• Wednesday, May 25, 6:30pm rehearsal

Looking ahead, don't forget to mark your calendars for the Fall Directors Workshop, which will be held Saturday, September 10 in Chula Vista. 

Finally, don't forget to check out the Southern California Region - Area XII Facebook page for up-to-the-minute news about Spring Ring and other handbell happenings in SoCal!

My best,
-Mich�le
[email protected]

  

Now that almost all of the area Spring Rings are over, most of you will, no doubt, be looking forward to Disneyland - I know I am!

  

But there's still many events coming up before that, so don't forget to stay involved locally. Next up in the LA Metro area is the Fall Workshop on October 15th in Glendale. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information!

  

Oh, and since the Disneyland conference is a local event too, put that on your calendar as well: June 28-July 1, 2012.

 

  

  

Greetings from Central California!

  

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. I certainly had lots of bell ringing, both on Palm Sunday and Easter - which was great! But sometimes the best laid plans of mice and bell ringers go awry....

  

One of my church bell choirs was supposed to ring May 1st, but the day after Easter I learned that we needed not just one but THREE substitutes. Now we have a very small sub list and had secured only one sub. We thought we had found a second but, alas, due to medical reasons, he had to decline. Then I learned that another one of our ringers had spent the week ill in the hospital and wasn't up to ringing yet. And worse, I - the Director - was sick, too!

  

What to do? We had less than a week to find two more subs, and no time for them to rehearse with us, in any case. Have you ever had to face something like this? This was a very unusual situation for this group, as they are typically very conscientious about this sort of thing. But, as I said, the best laid plans...well, sometimes they just turn out not to be the best. After some discussion, we decided to reschedule our ringing date. Much as it goes against the grain for me to ever give up on something (of course, my spouse says I'm just too stubborn to give up), I've had to learn (and often the hard way thanks to that stubborn streak!) that sometimes the better part of valor is to go to Plan B. What's two weeks later after all? We can always use more practice time, right?

  

Reminder that the Central Coast Spring Ring is just around the corner on Saturday, May 14th at Atascadero United Methodist Church. Contact Margie Orchard ([email protected]) for more information on this event. It's not too late to register and enjoy a great day of bells.

Happy ringing!

Kathie Mackie

Mark your calendars now for the Fourth Annual Redding Handbell Festival, October 21 and 22, 2011. The event will be held once again at the Simpson University Heritage Life Center. Our guest director will be Nevada's own Barbara Walsh. And again this year we will feature a "Ringin' in the Red Zone" bronze choir under the direction of Larry Sue. The Red Zone will start on on Friday night, October 21st, with a three-hour rehearsal. And Larry will be in redding on September 10th to lead a pre-festival workshop to help us get started on the Red Zone music.

  

This small festival always has a big audience, so you won't want to miss it. It is a great way to get your ringing season started, and fall is beautiful here in the northern part of the state. Keep an eye on the Northern California section of the Area XII web site for further details as they become available.

  

The Carillons Handbell Choir is busy preparing the concert program for their upcoming mission trip to Wittenberg, Germany. The group will help Castle Church in Wittenberg start a bell choir by leading three workshops, performing a concert, and playing for two church services. They will present that church with a donated two-octave set of handbells, tables, pads, covers, mallets and music to start their own handbell program. The group heads for Wittenberg the first weekend of July during the area's sacred music festival.

  

As always, don't forget to send me your bell choir news and performances  so your events can be posted in this enewsletter!.

  

Ringcerely,

Nancy Schmitt
[email protected]

The Ninth Annual Sierra Spring Ring was a resounding success as approximately 50 ringers gathered to make glorious music! South Reno United Methodist Church did an outstanding job of hosting the crowd with pleasant facilities, a spacious ringing set-up, and many friendly faces. Barb and Tess had the organization down pat by providing a schedule designed to give maximum ringing time, but still give us enough breaks to ensure that everyone stayed fresh.

  

Tess Houston has been our clinician for this event for several years. ringers in northern Nevada have come to trust her nurturing nature as she slowly helps us shape the pieces we have practiced into well-rung melodies and harmonies. This year, however, Tess brought something new to the Spring Ring: she started getting picky! No longer could we rest on the laurels of just hitting the right note on the correct beat. Tess encouraged us to ring expressively, notice the melodic line, and find the "violin" within the percussive sound of clappers on bronze. We rang our best, and then found with Tess' guidance that our best was even better than we thought!

  

The day flew by in a flurry of bells, notes, and music, and our concert was well attended by many local friends. Afterwards, Tintabulations entertained the audience with an hour of diverse music, from baroque to jazz. For those of us addicted to bells, the Sierra Spring Ring was possibly the highlight of the season.

To find out the latest happenings in Nevada, visit the Nevada section of the Area XII Web site.

Barbara Walsh, Nevada Regional Coordinator

Sarah Bigelow, Writing Assistant

Karen

Online registration is now open for the National Seminar to be held July 14-17, 2011 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis boasts some of the best musicians in the country, including handbell groups like Twin Cities Bronze and Bells of the Lakes. There will be classes, tracks, and, if you want, you can even spend the entire time ringing.

  

Check out the web site where you can find schedule, class, clinician, and online registration information.

  

And if this will be your first time attending, check out the article above for information on the Patty Marquart scholarship.

Advertising Rates: 2011 Publishing Year

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

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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. 

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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 [email protected].