Greetings!   

  

Area XII Chair

chair@area12.handbellmusicians.org 

Kathy Arnold, your 2012 conference registrar reminded me of a few important deadlines the other day, and I thought I should also take a moment to remind all of you who are attending the conference:

• Registration for the conference officially "closes" on May 15th. While this does NOT mean you cannot attend after that date, it DOES mean that the all-day track discount of $30 disappears. I tend to wait until the last-minute in adhering to deadlines as much as the next person, but if you haven't already registered, if I were you I would "git 'er done" before that discount goes away!
• The deadline to register for a room at the Disneyland Hotel is June 6th. Again the deep room discount offered to Area 12 conference attendees will disappear after that. To make your hotel reservation at the discounted rate, click here.
• All final conference registration payments are due by May 15th. If you made only a deposit payment, you will need to pay the rest of your registration by that date. Note that if you are signed up for a track and have not paid your full fee by May 15th, you run the risk of losing your track reservation. There is a waiting list for several tracks, so don't delay. Again...git 'er done!
• I'm sure many of you are excited about the twilight discount park passes we're being offered as part of the conference. We've discovered that those passes need to be purchased BEFORE the start of the conference! There is an expiration date on the discount, which is June 26th. If you plan to head into one of the Disney theme parks in the evening after the day's handbell events are over, go to the hotel registration page and click the link on the right side of the screen marked Purchase Specially-Priced Tickets Now!  

So I guess you all have your work cut out for you: git 'er done! 

Meanwhile, the rest of your Area 12 Board also has our work cut out for us. We are staying busy, busy, busy!  There are all the conference details: Scholarships, the Magic Ensemble, Vivace tour, Silent Auction, Massed Ringing rehearsal notes, track registration, concert planning, equipment and space planning. Then there are the local events and concerts that are still occurring through July.

Oh! And don't forget we also have Elections!

Heh, heh...amidst all of this, don't forget to practice.... 

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

 

Congratulations to Sandi Tansley, who correctly guessed the new item on the Area 12 web site was the Vivace Tour page (make sure you check it out - Vivace could be coming to a town near you!).

And now...before we give you the LAST Treasure Hunt clue (sniff, sniff....), here's a reminder of the rules. Use the clue below to search for the item on the Area 12 web site that is NEW information. (Now I have to say this again, because people seem to MISS this part of the clue - the correct answer is related to a NEW item on the Area 12 web site!) 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.  

Now, here's the final Treasure Hunt clue: 

For Area 12 elections, we'll surely need some votes

But to make the most of practice, don't forget the notes     

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. 

Hurry and send your guess

before someone else gets the last of the treasure....

Yo ho, Yo ho!

2012 SoCal Spring Ring

 

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

My best,
-Michèle
socal@areaxii.org

Greetings Fellow Ringers!

Well, we are now squarely in Spring Concert Season! I hope everyone has found a concert or two to attend. It's such an easy way to support other ringers in our community, plus you get to enjoy some live music to revitalize your own spirit. Please let me know if there are other handbell concerts (or concerts that include handbell ringing) that should be placed on our list!

Our Fall Ringers Workshop flyer and registration form are ready and will soon be available at the LA Metro page. We are very excited to try a new format. We're not going to split into divisions this year. Instead, we are offering twice as many class opportunities for all attending! We will also work on two massed pieces. We are only asking choirs to come with their own copies of the first title, the second will be borrowed from Area 12. The Workshop is being held on October 6 at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you have.

Plans for the Youth Handbell Festival are coming together as well. This will be an event specially designed for ringers in middle and high school. All choirs that include youth of this age range are encouraged to participate. If you are even considering bringing your youth to this event, I would appreciate a quick email saying so. This way, we can be sure to have the necessary staff and equipment to ensure a rich experience for all who attend.

See you at Disneyland!

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

Hello, Bay Area Ringers!

It's amazing the different types of events that happen with handbells. I encourage you to check out the calendar for opportunities to support see what some area groups are doing. Here are just three examples of recent Bay Area events.

The Bay Area School Festival took place on March 22 in the newly renovated gymnasium at All Saints Catholic School in Hayward. There were 125 young ringers performing under the guidance of clinician Michèle Sharik. She did a great job of pulling the group together for a wonderful concert, attended by parents and the students at All Saints. Most of the groups' teachers got involved in the Bell Olympic games, which included Maori Sticks this year. Thanks to site host Steven J. Meyer and event organizer Dian Ruder. Next year's event will be March 21, 2013, so school choirs and directors mark your calendar!

San Francisco's Bell Appeal presented their It's About Time concert on March 30 and 31 on both sides of the Bay. The repertoire - which was all songs related to time - included pieces such as "The Syncopated Clock, "Time After Time," "As Time Goes By" - I think you get the idea. The group incorporated other instruments in the concert, including cello, drums, guitar, and piano, to add to the texture of the music. All-in-all, it was a well-executed, well-performed, and entertaining program. Audiences are likely to see or hear something usual on handbells at a Bell Appeal concert.

On April 15, Handbell Ventures held its second annual Open House. The event - that was somehow both classy and casual - combined wine and light refreshments with songs by Bay Bells and Low Ding Zone. Since it was an open house, visitors could drop by any time at the Lucie Stern Ballroom; enjoy a glass of wine; watch handbell performances from individuals, trios, and quartets; and even join in sight reading a few pieces. If that weren't enough, a silent auction allowed participants to indulge in bidding on unique items that caught their fancy (in my case, a ceramic salt pig). This is a great way for people to experience handbells in performance without having to embrace a formal concert experience.

There are always lots of handbell events in the Bay Area, and May is no exception. Best wishes to all the performers - and don't forget to be an audience member, too - having a great, appreciative audience always helps the performance! 

As always, check the Area 12 calendar and the Bay Area web page for upcoming local concerts. Oh! And Bay Bells is looking for a new director, too. Details on that are also on the Bay Area web page!

Julie Vaquilar

bayarea@areaxii.org 

Friend us on Facebook!

Hello Ringers and Directors!

We love ringing bells and want to do as much ringing as possible. You might say we are addicted to ringing. Two rehearsals a week preparing for a concert, attending a ringing event every weekend or at least every other weekend, many hours spent rehearsing a solo number or duet number, rehearsing for a bronze event, giving a concert every day for two weeks while touring, and the list goes on.

Then your body, especially your arms and hands, start to retaliate from all of this ringing. You start to notice that your body parts are a little achy and sore. How many of us take the time to do stretches or warm up exercises before ringing or cool down exercises after finishing a grueling four- hour rehearsal? Yes, I remember the first rehearsal at the Orlando International Symposium was a four- hour rehearsal. How many of us know when to stop when it hurts too much? Some of us find it hard to take the 5-10 minutes to stretch and warm up and then 5 minutes to cool down because we want to get right into ringing or there is a time crunch. So something has to give.

Those extra few minutes of stretching and warm ups are important to keep your body healthy enough to keep ringing for years to come.

And as always, check the calendar for events and concerts in Northern California. 

Ringcerely,

Nancy Schmitt
norcal@areaxii.org 

Barbara Walsh  

Registration is now open for this summer's National Seminar in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Distinctly Bronze East in New Bern, North Carolina.

National events are a great way to increase your knowledge of the instrument and test your skills at a more advanced level. 

To find out more about these exciting National ringing and learning opportunities, click over to the National web site.