Greetings!   

  

Area XII Chair

chair@area12.handbellmusicians.org 

One of the first questions I received after sending the conference registration enewsletter a few weeks ago had to do with cost. I want to take a moment to put things into perspective (okay, yes, it's my perspective, but indulge me, please).

If you're like me, you remember the "good old days" when Area 12 conference fees were under $100. First of all, do you realize that was 30 years ago??! And what did we "get" for that $100? One conference conductor and several classes. Oh, but back then, you say, conferences were organized by division. So, in essence, we got two conference conductors: the division conductor (A, B, C - or Coppers, Tins or Bronze in the really old days), and the massed conductor - my bad.

And if we're still reminiscing on the good old days, I remember packing all of the bells, foam, tables, covers, mallets, chimes - oh, and maybe there was a little room for luggage - into as many personal, large vehicles as we could find (sometimes even a camper where we cooked our own food and slept!) and driving for a day to get to the conference, ringing non-stop for three days, and then driving a day back home. Whew!

And - if I can be perfectly honest for a moment - I also remember that after five or six of those events, I felt the classes were all the same, I was only interested in attending IF it was a name/new conductor (Dr. Payn, David Davidson), and I was totally exhausted and burned out on bells when I got home.

When I go to conferences for other topics - yes, even those organized by non-profit organizations - I find the experience to be energizing. Yes, it's tiring going to all those sessions, but the chance to be with my subject peers, think outside the box and create new ideas, focus all my time on the conference and not on cooking or making my bed or getting back and forth from the cheaper hotel to the conference - well, it can be exhilarating when done well, and then I can't wait to attend the next conference.

That's the kind of experience I want for our Area 12 conferences. And it's the kind of experience I believe we're building with this summer's conference at Disneyland. 

What I've discovered in life (and most financial analysts will tell you) is that if you think of the cost as simply the money you spend, it's not a correct assessment. You've got to do a full cost-benefit analysis to see the worth of something.

So let's look at some of the benefits of this year's conference:

• Access to more clinicians/conductors (this conference offers 7 main clinicians and two group teaching experiences).
• Access to more subject classes, with the opportunity to take up to five tracks and two evening classes between Thursday and Saturday.
• A continued tradition of the massed ringing experience, but the opportunity to work with three different conductors during the day.   
• Performances by six different handbell groups/soloists throughout the weekend (see the concert announcement below). 
• An incredible hotel experience, with the conference housed in the same resort facility (if you were at the last Area 12 conference, you will know how valuable a perk this is!). 
• The chance to combine the expense of your handbell conference with your vacation expense (you could pay for a trip to Disneyland and a separate trip to a handbell conference, or enjoy both at this event)
• To that end, discounted evening Disney park tickets and discounted hotel fees, even beyond the conference dates! 

Your Area 12 Board has also created a great system that offers discounts both for early bird registration and multiple day registration. As always, we have scholarships available - please take advantage of these if you are a first-time conference goer. And we still have four prizes to give out for the Treasure Hunt, which is a great opportunity to win yourself a $50 gift card to help with conference expenses.

I hope those of you who are concerned with the cost will also realize the unique, different and exciting benefits associated with this conference. It's quite possible there will never be another like it. Don't miss out on the opportunity to be energized instead of merely exhausted by a conference. Don't miss Disney this summer because you still long for the "good old days." The good new days are here - take advantage of them! 

P.L. Grove
Communications Director
info@areaxii.org 

 

Congratulations to the January Treasure Hunt winner, Cindy Ksiazek, who was the first person to send in the correct guess for the January clue, noting that conference registration is now open! If you haven't already figured that out, click here to go to the registration page (although we recommend you stop off at the conference page for some general information first). Congratulations, Cindy!

As for the rest of you, you are invited yet again to search for hidden treasure on the Area 12 web site each month through this enewsletter. Each newsletter will contain a clue as to where on the Area 12 web site you can find something new. Use the clue to identify the new item. Be the first person to send an email with the correct answer and win the prize. For full details of the contest, eligibility requirements and a list of the prizes, go to the Contest Page on the Area 12 web site.  

Here's the sixth Treasure Hunt clue: 

There's no mystery, no secret, or mask

If you have an inquiry, ask, ask, ask!   

The first eligible individual to send an email with the correct answer to info@areaxii.org wins this month's prize. Prize winners will be announced in the following month's enewsletter. All prize winners' contact information will be shared with the other winners to facilitate a potential prize exchange. 

Spread the word that we're on a treasure hunt....

Yo ho, Yo ho!

As always, watch our Facebook page for the latest SoCal handbell news.

My best,
-Michèle
socal@areaxii.org

Can you believe it? Our Spring Ring is less than two months away. I hope everyone has had a chance to order and start rehearsing our massed and division repertoire.

Our Spring Ring 2012 flyer and registration form are available on the LA Metro page of the Area 12  website. With nationally recognized clinician/composer Kath Wissinger directing our massed pieces, the ringing space will fill up fast. You'll want to get your registration in as soon as possible since table space will be assigned according to registration postmarks.

This year we are offering a Ringing Only option. This has become a popular choice at festivals in other areas of the country. Choirs may now opt to ring with both divisions. This means that you would miss the class opportunities, but you'd have the whole day to ring with Kath!

Get ready for the Inter-Choir Games! These lunch-time activities will especially appeal to your youth, though everyone is welcome to participate. Some of the games may include cup-stacking, coordination elimination, and a pancake flipping relay!

We are also pleased to offer Burst of Bronze, a Friday night off-shoot of the Spring Ring. This is an opportunity for bronze-level ringers from across our region to gather and work together under Kath's baton. This group will rehearse Friday evening (March 23) at Mid-Cities Baptist Church, and present their repertoire at the Spring Ring Closing Concert on March 24. More information can be found on the Spring Ring flyer and Burst of Bronze registration form posted on the website.

As always, please keep me updated on your concerts and other handbell events. Not only can I have them posted on our calendar, but this information will be useful as we develop new ringing events for our region.

Pearl Marshall  lametro@areaxii.org  
Check out our LA Metro Facebook page! 

Flexibility is the Key to this year's Bay Area Spring Ring and Intense Ring.

If you haven't sent in your registration for the Bay Area Spring Ring (March 24) (and Intense Ring March 23), in Cupertino, don't delay. Solo choir performance slots are full, but there is still plenty of room to ring in the Spring Ring massed ring and the Intense Ring.

The Bay Area Spring Ring offers an opportunity for individuals, small groups or full ensembles to have a fun time ringing and taking great classes. Ringers can attend by themselves, ring the mass music under superb director Debra Carr, take classes from skilled clinicians and enjoy socializing with bell ringers from throughout the area. There is great flexibility.

Sometimes two or three from a bell choir attend; often full groups of ten or more. The event offers the flexibility of selecting from a variety of classes designed to meet many needs and desires. When groups of ten or more register together, the individual price of $20 drops to approximately $17 or less! All this, plus the opportunity to hear the bay Area's premier solo ringer, Carol Smith, in concert, plus other excellent groups in the final closing extravaganza. Everyone rings in the massed concert, which this year will also feature the Messiah Brass, a group of fantastic Bay Area musicians, in a 15-minute prelude. Other concert highlights are Tessique Houston on flute, Low Ding Zone - the world's only all-bass handbell ensemble, and a choral group will join Canto Bello on their solo number. It all sounds exciting!

Further flexibility is offered in determining the music you'd like to ring in the final concert. There are five selections, and many groups/individuals will play all five. Some may find one or more of the pieces too difficult for their skills, and that is okay. I find it's better at these events when ringers feel comfortable with their abilities (and I'm sure that will make the director happy, too).

For more information about this year's Bay Area Spring Ring or Intense Ring, go to the Bay Area web page of the Area 12 website. To register, contact Carol Smith at  carolsmith2@comcast.net.

I'll see you all there!

Julie Vaquilar

bayarea@areaxii.org 

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Dear Handbell Musicians,

Your handbell ensemble rehearses once a week. Your handbell ensemble plays for church once a month. Your community handbell ensemble plays during the holiday season. So I would ask this question: "When does your handbell ensemble become a handbell family?" Is it when you all start to feel like a unit instead of individual pieces? Is it when you rejoice together when a member gets married or becomes a parent? Is it when you all wrap your arms around a member who just lost a loved one or just found out they have serious health problems? Is it when you know you will be absent from rehearsal and you go out of your way to find a substitute ringer so the rehearsal can be productive? Is it when your director asks the seemingly impossible and you all pitch in and make it happen? Is it when a ringer is struggling with the music and everyone exerts patience and offers assistance?  

Handbell ensembles are unique because of a special bond that sooner or later turns them into a handbell family. Has your handbell ensemble become a handbell family, or is your ensemble still a group of individual pieces waiting to experience that "family" feeling?

Ringcerely,

Nancy Schmitt
norcal@areaxii.org 

The 20th Las Vegas 12th Night was an event to remember! Thanks to Julie Vaquilar for giving us the following report on the event....

Barbara Walsh and Julie Vaquilar 

Ramona Miller attended the Master Class in Conducting, and Wendy Ciaramitaro took the Handbell Director Skills Development course. The two other atendees - Doug Jones and Roxanne Ford - were in the Ringing Techniques and Proficiency course taught by Area 12's own Michèle Sharik.

If you're looking for other national (and international) handbell experiences, don't forget Distinctly Bronze West returns to the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton, Washington this February 23-26; National Seminar will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio from July 18-21 this summer; and the 15th International Handbell Symposium will be held from July 31-August 4 this summer in Liverpool. All the details and registration information for these events can be found on the national web site.