Greetings!   

   

Area 12 Chair

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Area 12 Past Chair

I've had one of the busiest and most exciting summers I can remember in all my years of ringing handbells. Lots of travel, teaching, conducting (my first time conducting at an area festival - with three separate divisions!), and hosting our incredible Disneyland event!

I have not had a chance until now to say a big word of thanks and kudos to the groups and individuals who gave such great concerts at Disneyland. I know the rest of the Board agrees when I say to Cathedral Bells (Ramona Miller, director), Linda Krantz, Vivace (Carlos Rivera and Carlos Avila, directors), Tintabulations (Barbara Walsh, director), the Magic Ensemble (under the direction of Carlos Avila), and my own group Velocity, Job Very Well Done to you ALL!

As our chair and past chair mentioned, some changes are ahead. I will be winding down as your Communications Director at the end of this year, and will move into a new role as webmaster. This will be a welcome change for me, since I will have much less typing! :>)

Until then, I will try to keep up with all of your news, events, and reports for this enewsletter. We've had so much happening this year already, so I'm sure many of you are ready for the fall, which will mean a bit of a rest! But Christmas is just around the corner, so please remember to send us your concert and event information so everyone knows what's happening.

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Fei Tian Academy of the Arts California borrowed bells from the Area 12 handbell loan program for approximately five weeks following the Disneyland conference across two of our three 3-week summer sessions. The general music camp used the bells to introduce its students to a new instrument that also required them to work together as a group in ways that chamber music on their primary instrument did not. It also allowed students at varying levels to work together on more equal footing. General music students rang mostly 2-octave music (including O Come Little Children and Greensleeves) and learned about change ringing. Every student had the opportunity to act as the caller during the change-ringing, and the class later gave a demonstration at the end-of-camp recital. Students also found the singing bell technique (which was demonstrated one day with the wooden dowels the class used as Maori sticks) to be particularly interesting, prompting them to pass along the technique to two curious teachers of Fei Tian's other camps who came by to sit in for a class.

During the third session, students from other camps also tried out the bells after school. Many students stayed for after-school activities until their parents picked them up at 6 pm, and by the end of the camp, nine students were ringing two and a half octaves of bells two days a week. As they took out bells and put them away, many of these students would tell curious visitors about the bells: that you "shouldn't touch the bronze with your bare hands," or how to hold them, for instance. The students selected It's A Small World as their first piece, and later added O Come Little Children. The latter piece served as their performance piece for the camp recital.

Fei Tian's other camps included Chinese classical dance, ballet, erhu (sometimes known as the Chinese 2-stringed violin), Chinese language and culture, and fine art. Each summer camp was geared either towards children 6 and up, or children 9 and up. During the academic year, the school's full-time program is for students in grades 6 through 12, and it also has after-school and weekend programs in dance, music, fine art, and Chinese language and culture.

Fei Tian Academy of the Arts California would like to thank Handbell Musicians of America Area 12 for the use of three octaves of handbells this summer to enhance and enrich its general music summer camp.

Hello, SoCal handbell musicians!

I hope you all had a great summer. After the big Disneyland conference, some of us didn't want to stop ringing for the rest of the summer, so we held a ringer/director workshop. Thanks to the efforts of D.L. Shearer, the bells were not silent at the end of the summer. Here's a report from D.L. on how the day went:

"First United Methodist Church of Escondido, CA hosted an all-day handbell workshop on Saturday, August 18, 2012, featuring well-known clinician Mich�le Sharik. The day was designed for both directors and ringers of all ability levels. The workshop consisted of two classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. Following bagels/cream cheese and coffee during registration, the ten participants introduced ourselves and told a bit of our background in handbells which ranged from 38 years' experience to beginners. Mich�le gave a lot of hands-on individual instruction with each participant as we had our "100,000 Measure Tune-Up" in her Basics Revisited class, followed by her Ringing with One Accord class to learn techniques and strategies to ring chords cleanly as well as runs rapidly and accurately. Following a no-host lunch at the local Irish Pub, we continued with a Multiple Bell Techniques class to master weaving techniques using three or four bells, and then we concluded with six methods to ring four-in-hand. The relaxed yet informative day was enjoyed by all participants, and we left with a new zest to begin our fall programs. Thank you to our host choir, to all the participants, and to our clinician Mich�le Sharik."

David Leigh Shearer, Director of Music Ministries

First United Methodist Church of Escondido

As most of you (hopefully) know, this fall I will be moving into the role of chair elect. I want to thank all of you for your support over the last two years. Stepping into the Southern California Regional Coordinator position as a new transplant to SoCal was both intimidating and exciting, but you all made me feel very welcome. Now that I will be moving on to take on new Board duties, please join me in welcoming Lois Harry as your new SoCal Regional Coordinator. I know you will extend to her the same hospitality and cooperation you've given me, and I look forward to continuing to see you all at local events under Lois' coordination. Best wishes to you all!

-Mich�le

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

SoCal Regional Coordinator
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Area 12, Handbell Musicians of America

http://www.areaxii.org/Areas/SouthernCalifornia

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The Southern California Region is all of Imperial & San Diego Counties, and most of Riverside & San Bernardino Counties.

 

Hello, Bay Area Ringers!

One event that occurs each summer is called "Let Freedom Ring." It is an event that is shared across the country annually each July 4th. At 11 am Pacific Time (2 pm Eastern Time, etc.), ringers throughout the nation toll their bells.

In the Bay Area, Los Altos Lutheran Church participated with bell-ringing by the church handbell choir and ringers from Low Ding Zone. In addition, the program included the singing of the military anthems of the US Army, US Navy, US Marines, and the US Coast Guard. Some in attendance were service veterans from various eras in US history.

A Harrison, Arkansas, website about the history of the event states:

The tradition of ringing bells for celebrations goes back hundreds of years and was adopted by Congress on June 26, 1963 with Resolution No. 25. Congress declared that the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence should be observed each year by the ringing of bells throughout the United States at the hour of 2 o'clock, eastern daylight time, in the afternoon of the 4th day of July, or at such other time on that day as may be determined by local authority.

Thanks to Los Altos Lutheran Church (and others, I'm sure) for continuing the tradition!

In other news:

1. The 15th International Handbell Symposium took place in Liverpool earlier this month. The Bay Area was well-represented with ringers Joel Gingrich, P.L. Grove, Nuno Raposo, Dave Ruder, Dian Ruder, Jeannine Schwartz, and Julie Vaquilar. There were ringers from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the United States, and Great Britain. Stayed tuned for info for the 16th Symposium in August 2014 in Jeju, Korea.
2. Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church is seeking a handbell director to begin in September 2012. The Choir of Bells is an inter-generational group that rehearses every Tuesday evening and plays in church once per calendar month, plus some out-reach activities and festivals. The church owns 5 octaves of Schulmerich handbells and 5 octaves of Malmark handchimes. For more information, or to apply for the position, please contact the church office at 408-739-1892 (http://www.svpc.us) 

As always, check the Area 12 calendar and the Bay Area web page for upcoming local concerts.  Oh! And don't forget that Bay Bells is looking for a new director, too. Details on that are also on the Bay Area web page!

Julie Vaquilar

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Dear Handbell Musicians,

Most of the big ringing events from the summer are over, and hopefully you are all finding time to relax before the fall season kicks off. Speaking of fall, there is one local ringing opportunity coming up that you won't want to miss. The Fifth Annual Redding Handbell Festival is October 13 and will be held at Simpson University Heritage Life Center in Redding. The festival kicks off on Friday evening, October 12, with Ringin' in the Red Zone bronze choir rehearsal for all of you ringers reaching for the stars of more advanced ringing; it will once again be under the direction of Larry Sue. Then the main festival starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 13, with Mary Balkow directing the massed choir. There will also be classes to fit your needs: a reading session of new music, bell trees, basic ringing, bell maintenance, tricky rhythms, percussion instruments, and a fun class with boomwhackers and other whacky instruments! You also will be treated to a light breakfast and lunch. For more information on the festival please contact me soon.

And be sure to check out the Area 12 calendar of events, and remember to e-mail me with your upcoming concerts, workshops, or other happenings.

Ringcerely,

Nancy Schmitt
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It was a National summer, as ringers and directors attended the National Seminar in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the International Symposium in Liverpool, England. Area 12 was well represented at both events, and if you're disappointed you weren't there, note there are two more opportunities to participant in National ringing events.

First, what is arguably the very best ringing event for advanced handbell ringers - Distinctly Bronze - has been occurring on the West Coast for the past couple of years. This year, the event returns once again, so don't delay in getting your forms in once registration is opened. This is a great opportunity for individuals who play only in a local church choir to expand their repertoire, and for advanced ringers to gain some experience under a different conductor. This year's conductor for Distinctly Bronze West will be the beloved and greatly respected Fred Gramann. Spots are bound to fill up quickly, so save the date and watch the National web site for details.

If you don't have time or resources to attend an event, there's a  new and exciting opportunity for you to ring at home. Handbell Musicians of America is seeking participants for a virtual handbell ensemble. The Virtual Handbell Ensemble is an exciting new project of the Handbell Musicians of America, in which you will have the opportunity to perform a new work of music via video uploads. Misterium, a special composition by Area 12's own James Meredith, consists of 135 musical segments to be recorded separately by individuals and small groups of players from around the world over a seven month period and uploaded to the web. All of the segments will be assembled by the editing videographer and the composer into the final work to be premiered online in July, 2013. This is your opportunity to participate in a National handbell project without incurring the expense of travel of attending a conference - don't miss it! For a video introduction by Mr. Meredith and all the information you need to participate, visit the project website at virtual.HandbellMusicians.org.

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, go to the National web site.