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WestCoast Handbell Supply
 For
Handbell Music,Supplies, and Service
Toll Free 888-775-WEST
Call: 559-625-5111
Fax: 559-741-7346
P.O. Box 4361
Visalia, CA 93278-4361
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Concerts at a Glance
Please see the Calendar of Events
below for full details.
Central California
Spring Ring Concert
Sat., Mar. 9 5 pm
Bakersfield, CA
Bay Area
Bay Area Youth Festival
Thurs., Mar. 21 1:35 pm
Hayward, CA
Northern California
Carillons and Simpson University Handbell Choir
Sun., Mar. 17 3 pm
Redding, CA
Hawaii
Hakuoh University
Handbell Choir
Wed. Feb 13 7 pm
Kane'ohe, HI
Thurs. Feb. 14 10 am
Pearl City, HI
Fri. Feb. 15 7 pm
Honolulu, HI
Southern California
Timbré Ensemble, guest artists
San Diego Interfaith Choir
and Orchestra Concert
Sat., March 9 7:30 pm
Escondido, CA
To view all the events on the
Area 12 calendar click here
Or go to the Areas portion of our web site (click on your state or area at top of home page) to see which concerts and events are happening near you.
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Area 12 Board
Elected Officers:
SoCal........ ........... Lois HarryLiaisons: Las Vegas.............Dixie Bailey |
Area 12 Bell Loan Program
Teachers, would you like the use of a 3 octave set of handbells or handchimes to add interest and a new dimension to your music class? Area 12 encourages schools and other educational institutions (both public and private) to develop educational programs using handbells and handchimes. To support the development of such programs, Area 12 has two sets of 3 octaves of handbells and three sets of 3 octaves of handchimes for loan. Deadlines for applications are 5/31 for the Fall Semester and 10/30 for the Spring Semester. To learn more about the responsibilities and proce-dures for participating in this program click here.
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Our National Organization
There are some exciting National opportunities coming up in NOW.
 LAST CALL! Participate in the Handbell Musicians of America Virtual Handbell Ensemble by uploading your video by March 1, 2013. The piece, Misterium, composed 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. Record as many or as few as you like! Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to be a part of this special work premiering at National Seminar this July.  National Seminar goes West! Registration Now Open! Follow the Oregon Trail and find us in beautiful, scenic Portland, Oregon, for our National Seminar, July 24-27. Event activities will take place at the Oregon Convention Center, while registrants will be housed at our official event hotel, the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, a national historic landmark hotel. Event participants will have numerous opportunities to ex-pand their knowledge of hand-bells, handchimes, and overall musicianship through classes, extended tracks, or our Handbell Musician Certification program, led by nationally recognized faculty members; as well as reading sessions highlighting the best music from our handbell publishers; concert performances by handbell musicians from all over the world; and multiple occasions for networking and "rubbing elbows" with fellow handbell musicians. See all the details and register today at Seminar.HandbellMusicians.org To learn more about these exciting National ringing and educational opportunities, go to the national web site . |
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Calendar of Events
February - March
Saturday, February 9, 2013 1pm
The Lighter Side of Ringing
Treble Bell Workshop
First United Methodist Church
134 N. Kenwood Street
Glendale, CA
For information contact
Wednesday, Feb 13, 2013 7pm
Hakuoh University Handbell Choir
Windward Community College
Paliku Theatre
45-720 Kea'ahala St., Kane'ohe, HI
For information, call 808-235-7433
Thursday, Feb 14, 2013 10am
Hakuoh University Handbell Choir
Leeward Community College Theater
96-045 Ala 'Ike, Pearl City, HI
For information, call 808-235-7433
Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 7pm
Hakuoh University Handbell Choir
United Church of Christ
467 N Judd Street
Honolulu, HI
For information, call 808-235-7433
Saturday, March 9, 2013 9am
St. John's Lutheran Church
4500 Buena Vista Road
Bakersfield, CA
For information, contact
March 9, 2013 7:30 pm
San Diego Interfaith Choir and Orchestra with guest artists, Timbre Ensemble
California Center for the Arts,
340 North Escondido Boulevard
Escondido, CA
Carillons and Simpson University Handbell Choir
in a concert to benefit the Watoto Village in Uganda, Africa
St. James Lutheran Church
2500 Shasta View Drive
Redding, CA
For information, contact
Bay Area School Festival
All Saints Catholic School
22870 Second Street
Hayward, CA
Clinician: David Ruder
For information, contact
Your event can appear here!
To view all the events on the
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Advertising Rates for the
2013 Publishing Year
The Twelfth Tone E-newsletter
is published the first of each month, except July, by Area 12 of the Handbell Musicians of America (The Guild). The Guild is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the musical art of handbell/handchime ringing through education, community, and communication. The editor of this publication reserves the right to reject or modify copy.
Advertising Rates:
We offer two different types of ads
1.(a) 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.
$10/issue $54/6 issues $94/11 issues
1.(b) Ad designed and formatted by you that is exactly 100 pixels X 600 pixels and sent in a jpeg or gif file. The ad will by hyperlinked to your website.
$18/issue $97/6 issues $168/11 issues
2.(a) 1.5" X 4" 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 to be formatted by the editor.
$15/issue $81/6 issues $140/11 issues
2.(b) 1.5" X 8" 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 to be formatted by the editor.
$27/issue $146/6 issues
$252/11 issues
Payment is due before publication.
DEADLINE is the 24th of the month
Please submit your ads to Barbara Meinke, Communications Director, via email.
Make checks payable to AGEHR Area 12 and send to:
Kathy Arnold, Treasurer
1228 Isabelle Avenue
Mountain View, CA 94040
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Greetings!
Wow! February already! Whether you're sowing seeds for Lent, Passover, Easter, Spring Equinox, Earth Day or Spring Concert Season, no doubt you are knee-deep in bells again! Shower your seedlings with water from the well of Area 12 events and concerts and watch your bell garden GROW!
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Past Chair Rima Greer once noted that the best part of handbells is the people. I'd have to agree. We could, after all, just sit in a bell room playing for and by ourselves, but that's not nearly as fun. It's sharing both the complexity and joy of making music that keeps us stepping up to the handbell table.
And while we all share within our own individual handbell groups, why not expand the circle of sharing by attending a Spring Ring? Think of it as a physical way to add more "friends" to your handbell network. If you haven't yet made it to a local Spring Ring, you really need to experience the camaraderie and excitement created by a room full of handbell ringers all playing the same piece. And if you've been before, well you know that in addition to the musical satisfaction the event provides, you also have the chance to renew old acquaintances and friendships.
April is the big month for Spring Rings, with Central California hosting on April 6, the San Francisco Bay Area on April 12 and 13, and Southern California on April 19 and 20; so make sure you sign up and get working on that music. But first in the lineup is LA Metro on March 2nd, and LA ringers even get two chances to connect when they come together for their treble bell workshop on February 9th.
Oh! And for all you amazing composers out there, don't forget the deadline for the composition contest is just around the corner on February 28. Remember, there's a cash award associated with winning this contest, so now is the time to finalize your entries and polish them. Feel free to contact Past Chair Rima Greer for questions about submittal.
Yes, what we do is about music and bells and tables and foam, etc., and it can sometimes get very technical trying to make every note just perfect. But I agree with Rima: the best part is connecting with the people. Take advantage of all the opportunities Area 12 offers for you to connect with other wonderful handbell people in the next few months.
Laurie Sanders
Area 12 Chair
chair.area12@handbellmusicians.org
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Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines!
I heard it said that goals are dreams with deadlines. I know I personally need deadlines to reach goals (realize dreams!) and some-times I even set them for myself! Like this month...get my Spring Ring registration in and video record a few segments of Jim Meredith's Misterium for The Guild's world wide Virtual Handbell Ensemble...deadline March 1! I can't imagine missing an opportunity to be part of something so big! Perhaps you dream of writing an award winning piece for handbells...and the month end deadline of our Composition Contest will be your inspiration!
I know first hand that turning dreams into realities can be as simple as saying yes before the deadline (or someone beats me to the punch!). Area 12 has a wealth of knowledge and experience in handbells to share with you to help you realize your handbell dreams, whether you are a novice or a pro. Use the information throughout this newsletter, deadlines and all, for your inspiration, your motivation, your spark to turn a dream into a goal!
Barbara Meinke
Communications Director
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LAST CALL!
Area 12 Seeks Composition Contest Submissions
Once again Area 12 is hosting a composition contest, and this year we're even giving you a little extra time to get your composition in!
Every other year, Area 12 sponsors a contest to encourage composers to write new music for handbells and to create an exciting new piece for our next conference.
The Area 12 Board is hard at work planning for the next conference in San Luis Obispo, and they have chosen the theme of percussion for the event. Seasoned and budding composers - and especially Area 12 members - are encouraged to be creative and bring out the percussive nature of handbells in this year's contest.
All contest submissions must be received by February 28, 2013 and should be emailed to:
Rima Greer
Immediate Past Chair
For full details of the 2013 Area 12 composition contest,
go to the Area 12 website.
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2014 Ringer's Conference Announcements
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Greetings from your Area 12 2014 Conference Committee!
We are happy to report, after much research and number crunching, we have a date and a venue for 2014! We were especially anxious to make this location work, so we could visit our central coastal CA friends, who rarely get the opportunity to have a conference in their back yard. Get ready, here we come!
And so, we are pleased to announce that the 2014 Area 12 conference will be held June 19-22, at the lovely Embassy Suites hotel and conference center in beautiful San Luis Obispo, CA. It's centrally located in town, within 5 minutes walking distance to a shopping center and restaurants. All the rooms are comfy suites that will accommodate up to four people very nicely. We were particularly taken with the hotel's Atrium, where we'll be doing meals and some concerts. It's a lovely solarium type room, very bright and open. And if you can bear to leave the conference for a few hours, it's a short drive to the beach!
We are in the process of getting contracts to our clinicians, and we should have that very exciting announcement for you next month. So save the date, and get ready to rock and roll in beautiful SLO!
Debbie Shaw, Conference Coordinator
Rima Greer, Conference Clinicians and Programs
Kathy Arnold, Registrar
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NorCal - Nancy Schmitt, Regional Coordinator
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Dear Handbell Musicians,
Songs Without Words
Most of the handbell music we play does not have words. Yes, there are some songs out there with a choir part or a vocalist part, but generally we just play the song. So how do we convey the message of the song to our audience if there are no words? If it is a hymn tune we could suggest to the congregation to turn to that hymn and read the words as we play. If it is not a hymn tune we could look up the title of the song on the internet and see if there are words or a message. We could e-mail the composer and find out why they wrote that song. Two songs come to mind that have a powerful message: Arnold Sherman's "Gracioso" and Kevin McChesney's "Make Me An Instrument of thy Peace." Before playing one or both of these songs you could share the reason the composer wrote the song. Our handbell music becomes so much more meaningful to our audience when they know the song's message and after the concert is over you will have several people come forward and tell you how much it meant to them knowing the background of the song.
Ringcerely,
Nancy Schmitt
NorCal Regional Coordinator
norcal.area12@handbellmusicians.org
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Hawaii - Karen Carlisle, Regional Coordinator
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Aloha All,
This just in! Come hear Hakuoh University Handbell Choir from Japan in their concert "Enhance the Romance of Valentine's Day!"
Wednesday, Feb 13 7pm
Windward Community College Paliku Theatre
45-720 Kea'ahala St., Kane'ohe
Thursday, Feb. 14 10 am
Leeward Community College Theatre
96-045 Ala 'Ike, Pearl City
Friday, Feb. 15, 7 pm
United Church of Christ
467 North Judd St., Honolulu
Ok, back to my regularly scheduled programming...
As we are getting back in to the swing of things with our choirs, some have already performed in worship services. Wow how the time flies! Trying to find ringers for our groups is something we all always hope will be easy. We hope people with all kinds of handbell experience will just show up. I dream of this, but then reality sets in. I have found some really great candidates lately and feel very lucky, but that does not always happen. I am going to take you through my adventure of using a different handbell assignment system that has been around for awhile and may help you when you are a ringer short!
Though nothing is written in stone about what is best, folks tend to ring where they are comfortable. We are trying out the Robert Ivey assignment system in my community choir. This changes the assignments beginning at A5 (who has A5/6/7 and helps its neighbors). Starting with B5, the bells are assigned in pairs with corresponding accidentals and 6th and 7th octave "doubles." It is a bit of a challenge for your mind when you play one bell off from a traditional position, for instance when you are used to playing E6-F6 and now you are playing D6-E6. Yes the E is in a different hand! I have Post-It notes (the best thing ever invented!) on each side of my folder reminding me which note is in which hand. I am constantly repeating E right hand, E right hand. Whew! It is a challenge for the person on B5(6/7)-C6(7/8) to share uncovered bells on both sides. It is hard to let others ring your bells but they say it can be done! So we are trying. This system has many benefits according to the books and others that are using it, and one of those is you need one less person in the treble bells. Then, if you have available ringers, you use them to cover the bass bells. No one is on that oh-so-boring-at-times B6-C7 position! There is no sleeping on the top! For more information on this system, check out Handbell Assignment Book: The Eight-Ten System by Robert Ivey put out by AGAPE.
Do you want to get in on a conversation and offer feedback about this? Join me on Facebook - Hawaii Handbells
Mahalo!
Karen Carlisle
Hawaii Regional Coordinator
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LA Metro - Pearl Marshall, Regional Coordinator
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Greetings LAMetro Ringers and Directors!
This month I have one announce-ment, one reminder and some information to help you plan participation in future regional events.
SPRING RING - March 2 - Cancelled
Unfortunately, we've had to cancel our Spring Ring for this March. Please consider attending one of the Spring Rings offered in Temecula, Bakersfield, or San Louis Obispo, depending on your location and how far you're willing to drive. They all sound like interesting and meaningful events.
We are already working on Spring Ring 2014. Please contact me at my NEW email address below if you have an interest in hosting this celebration of handbell ringing in the LA Region.
"THE LIGHTER SIDE" Workshop - February 9
We are looking forward to a lovely afternoon focusing on multiple treble bell skills and handchimes. The early-bird registration deadline is past, but we do have room for a few more ringers. The info flyer/registration form is still on our web page. Please contact me immediately if you'd like to participate. (See above for contact info.)
LOOKING AHEAD
As some of us plan our yearly schedules and budgets several months in advance, it may be helpful to have an overview of the educational events that will be offered in our region.
- Director's Seminar - Early August
- Fall Ringers Workshop - Oct. 5, 2013, Lake Avenue Church, Pasadena
- Youth Handbell Festival - Early November
- "Ringer Interest" Workshop - Early February (This year we responded to several requests for more opportunities to learn multiple bell techniques.)
- Spring Ring - Early March (Spring Ring 2014 repertoire will include several of the pieces selected for our Area 12 Conference in San Luis Obispo!)
I invite you to share with me your suggestions or desires for these events so that we can better serve your needs and interests. These opportunities give us a chance to not only improve our skills, but also to connect with and support the wider community of handbell ringers. We'd love to see you there!
Joyfully Ringing,
Pearl Marshall
LA Metro Regional Coordinator
lametro.area12@handbellmusicians.org
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Bay Area - Julie Vaquilar, Regional Coordinator
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Hello, Bay Area Ringers! Two ringing events to report about this past January. First of all, what better way to start off the new year than cruising the Caribbean and ringing handbells about a rockin' ship. Bells of the Cascades Cruise XII set sail from Fort Lauderdale for a week-long cruise to Half Moon Cay, Aruba, and Curacao. While at sea, ringers rehearsed music under the direction of the wonderful , talented, and good-humored guest clinician Fred Gramann. The cruise theme was "Totally Nuts about Ringing." Pieces performed during the ringers' concert included Jason Krug's "Steadfast Assurance" and Fred Gramann's "Change Ring Prelude on Divinum Mysterium." In addition to the ringers' concert at the end of the cruise, passengers were treated to handbell concerts by Handbells Unlimited (duet ringers Beth Davidson and David Jordan), various ensemble performers, and Bells of the Cascades. Some of the Area 12 ringers gathered for a photo op on deck:
The cruise was great, but there are great things coming up here and now in our own backyard!
In January, Bay Area ringers got together to preview music for the upcoming Bay Area Spring Ring in Cupertino. Here is a photo of our happy participants. And this was after the rehearsal!
Pieces for spring ring include Lee Afdahl's "Thaxted" and Hart Morris's "Deep River." Many thanks to Dave Ruder for organizing the event at Valley Church.
Bay Area Spring Ring in Cupertino takes place Saturday, April 13, with guest clinician, Hart Morris. It concludes with a free concert in the early evening.
Happy Ringing!
Julie Vaquilar
Bay Area Regional Coordinator bayarea.area12@handbellmusicians.org |
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CenCal - Lori Smith, Regional Coordinator
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Hello CenCal!
There are a couple of really nice events coming up!
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Bakersfield, California
(Always an amazing and fun day!)
Central California Spring Ring with P.L. Grove
Saturday, April 6, 2013
San Luis Obispo, California
Also, mark your calendars and start packing your bags for this year's National Seminar in Portland, Oregon, July 24 - 27. It's a lovely city and a great place to extend your time there into a vacation.
Lori Smith
CenCal Regional Coordinator
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SoCal - Lois Harry, Regional Coordinator
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Nevada - Barb Walsh, Regional Coordinator
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Keep checking the website for details to come!
Spring Ring with Tess Houston
Saturday, April 20, 2013
South Reno
Barbara Walsh
Nevada Regional Coordinator
nv.area12@handbellmusicians.org
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