Dear Area 12 AGEHR Scholarship Committee,

     My apologies for taking so long to formally thank you for selecting me this year for the Patty Marquart Conducting Scholarship for 2014. With the help of the scholarship, I was able to attend National Seminar and I want to tell you about what it was like for me to participate in those four glorious days in Atlanta July 14-18.

     I arrived in Atlanta two days early in order to visit friends. We went to hear Stone Mountain Carillon and while there got to meet Mabel Sharp, the carilloneur. She explained the design and mechanisms, invited us into the glass-house console room while she gave the concert, and afterwards told us the history going back to the 1964 World's Fair in NY. By coincidence this was also the 50th anniversary of President Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2nd. We visited the Martin Luther King, Jr., Historic Site including the family home, grave site of Martin & Coretta King, Jr., the Visitor Center, and most moving of all we visited the original Ebenezer Baptist Church.

    Following registration at the Sheraton Hotel on Monday night, the Seminar swept us up in a whirlwind of activities. It was a priceless opportunity to connect with musicians from other regions of the US and to be exposed to all sorts of music and ideas that were new to me. I was pretty much running on adrenalin by the end of the week. Barb Walsh and I enjoyed rooming together, compared experiences at the end of each day, and studied together for the Certification Theory 2 test (and both passed!).

     I'm working toward certification Level 1, so I was disappointed not to get into Michele Sharik's Techniques 1 class, but I tested out of Michael Glasgow's Theory 1 and also passed Theory 2. In Kath Wissinger's "Beginning Ringing Track," we worked with her compositions that are written especially to teach beginners. For me, Kath is a fantastic role model for how to teach adults and children by keeping them (in this case, our class) fully engaged through musical games, movement, and lively quizzes as well as bell ringing. I told Kath that just those five classes alone were worth the trip to Atlanta because I got a better handle on how to work with some of my newer and rhythmically challenged musicians. "Increasing Your Group's Internet Presence" (discussion group), moderated by Derek Nance, was very worthwhile. Several people shared their successes with social networking and websites to communicate, promote and build online communities specific to their musical groups and events. The group encouraged me to expand the music ministry presence on my church's website and I have started working on that. Now I have a some technically savvy handbell friends who can give me feedback. The most fun class I took was "Malleting" with Hart Morris. I came away with a set of progressively challenging malleting exercises to use with my own bell ringers.

     All the concerts were impressive and entertaining. Before this I had not been to many handbell concerts, so I was excited to find that top groups have distinct personalities and play a huge array of composers, arrangers, and styles. Handbell repertoire is seemingly endless; it's a matter of creativity matched to a group's ability. How interesting to hear Largo from Handel's Xerxes in the same program with Flight of the Bumblebee. I was especially taken with the younger groups such as Impulse Handbell Ensemble from New Jersey and Arsis Youth Ensemble from Estonia. Arsis seemed to dance and weave their pieces out of thin air, they played as a single instrument with such musicality, precision, and emotion. Velocity2 made a big impression on me with their virtuoso playing, talks between pieces, and their sense of theatre without going too far. They really put on a good show, but it felt like we were in a much smaller room because it was so personal. The All-Star Choir proved that you can lock handbell musicians in a room for three days with Hart Morris and Emily Li and they'll come out playing like they've been together for months.

    The pièce de résistance for me was the Hymn Festival at Central Presbyterian Church on Thursday night. It was thrilling to join in singing along with so many fine musicians from National Seminar, as well as the choral choir, instrumentalists, and handbell choir lead by David VanderMeer. I would like to organize something along those lines at my own church, although not as large and elaborate. The Festival was a beautiful way to honor musicians past and present at the 60th Anniversary of the Handbell Musicians of America.

     Everyone I met at National Seminar was just as friendly and helpful as could be, regardless of how much experience and knowledge they have ringing/conducting/composing/teaching. As an example, Tess Houston invited me to the Leadership Breakfast and I sat between her and Lee Afdahl. Lee and I reminisced about the years when we were in school studying music in the Midwest, and he was genuinely interested in my story. JR Smith would simply not give up until I was able to access the seminar app on my iPhone. Ellie Hodder was super nice about making sure I got what I needed when things got confused. So many teachers were generous with their time in answering questions, even those who were extremely busy. I am staying in touch with some of my new acquaintances as we roll into autumn and winter. In September I am giving a talk at my church to share about my experiences in Atlanta this summer and showcase my ringers in a demonstration of handbell techniques.

     Thank you for giving me this great opportunity to learn and grow.

Sincerely,

This event is endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America

Scott Leggett

Kari Jacobs

SoCal Regional Coordinator

socal.area12@handbellmusicians.org