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Our National
Organization
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Tip of the
Month
Regarding snail mail
to our national office!
The US Post Office will soon discontinue forwarding mail addressed to the former Dayton office.
Any correspondence for the National Office should be sent to the address below. Please update your
address books!
For mailing anything that includes payment by check:
Handbell Musicians
of America
PO Box 145400
Mail Location 521 Cincinnati, OH 45250
for mailing everything else:
Handbell Musicians
of America
201 E. 5th Street
Suite 1900-1025
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Have a tip to share?
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The Twelfth Tone will take a break in July, so soak up everything you can below and keep it handy for your mid-summer reference!
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Message from the Chair - Mich�le Sharik
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Hi there, Area 12!
As our handbell programs start to wind down for the summer, it's time not only to reflect on the great season we just had, but also to look ahead to the fall. Specifically, fall workshops! I know several of our Regions have events planned, so be sure to look at our event calendar and plan to attend one (or more!) of these excellent skill-building opportunities. Speaking of events, it's not too early to start planning to attend the 2016 Area 12 Conference, to be held in Modesto. Our Conference Chair Lisa Traughber has some news for us below, so keep reading! Have a great summer! Mich�le Sharik
Chair
[email protected]
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Area 12 Ringers' Festival Conference - June 16-19, 2016
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Communiqu� - Barbara Meinke, Communications Director
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Back to Bells!
It's hard to think about going back already! After all, we've not quite finished this season yet! But, progress takes planning and germinating seeds takes time. Let's plant some seeds NOW and then sit back over the summer and watch them grow!
Handbell Musicians of America is sponsoring a program this September called Back to Bells. It is a collaborative effort between our national organization, all 12 Areas, and the Handbell Industry Council to provide an opportunity for churches with inactive handbells to restart their programs. Areas, with support from the Guild, will host FREE workshops which will provide instruction on starting and sustaining a church handbell program. Area 12 will be offering at least 12 of these workshops THIS SEPTEMBER all over California, Nevada, and Hawaii! (list will go up on our web calendar very soon!).
How can you help? Just by planting seeds! Do you know of an inactive bell set? Would you make some calls in your area to find out who has hidden bells? Will you direct folks to our Area 12 web calendar (for dates and locations right now) and the National website (registration information will be there August 1 ) or pass their contact information on to me or another board member? Every lead could be a seed that just needs a little water and sunshine. We've got that (at least figuratively)!
Barbara Meinke
Communications Director
[email protected]
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Hi everybody!
I'm your new Regional Coordinator for the SF Bay Area. You've most likely seen me directing or ringing at a Bay Bells concert, or at the Bay Area Spring Ring. You might also have seen me at a recent area festival or at DB West this past February. I've been ringing bells since I was in middle school, when I watched my mother play a handbell trio with some other members of her church. I thought to myself, "What is this strange and fascinating instrument my mother suddenly knows how to play?" Turns out, she learned from my great aunt, who learned from my great grandmother, and the rest is history!
As your new Bay Area Regional Coordinator, I plan to keep you informed about upcoming events, workshops, and other exciting happenings. I am always looking for ways to share handbells with new audiences, so I'd love to hear from you what successes you've had in that area. Finally, I intend to support you all in whatever way I can, so here's my first foray into that realm.
Have you ever needed a sub for a rehearsal? Are you on Facebook? Have you heard of the group "Bay Area Handbell Subs"? If any of these are true, join this group! The group is not only for directors; it's for any ringer who wants to be available to sub in the SF Bay Area, because you can never have enough ringing! The larger the group is, the more effective it will be, so encourage all your ringers to join. I once had a sub ringer come from Lodi, just because she happened to be in town that weekend!
I'm always open to your ideas and news, so email me anytime!
All my best,
Kendra Scott
Bay Area Regional Coordinator
For information on San Francisco Bay Area's concerts, events,
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So. California - COULD BE YOU!, Regional Coordinator
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in Escondido, CA
Saturday, September 12, 2015
First United Methodist Church of Escondido
341 S. Kalmia St., Escondido, CA 92025
in Victorville, CA
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Trinity Lutheran Church
16138 Molino Dr., Victorville, CA 92395
These events are endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America
So Cal Region is looking for a coordinator! Won't you please raise your hand?
Send email to Mich�le Sharik or Barbara Meinke. We'll treat you to lunch while we tell you all about it!
Southern California Regional Coordinator
[email protected]
This email address IS being monitored!
For information on Southern California's concerts, events,
and other opportunities, click here.
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No. California - Nancy Schmitt, Regional Coordinator
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Hello, Northern California!
It is that time of year again when many of us close up our handbell shops for the summer! Directors share appreciation and thank their ringers for a wonderful season of ringing. They also thank their families for sharing their ringer once or twice a week! Perhaps it's also time to say goodbye to ringers or directors who are retiring from bells or moving. For some, summer is a welcome break to visit with friends and families and enjoy some fun non-handbell activities. So, go ahead and relax! Then in the fall, come back refreshed and ready to ring! And speaking of fall -
SAVE THE DATE!
Redding Handbell Festival
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Redding, CA
Registration forms are on the Northern California Calendar.
This event is endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America
I wish you all a wonderful and safe summer!
Ringcerely,
Northern California Regional Coordinator
For information on Northern California's concerts, events,
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So. Nevada - Alison Pruett, Regional Coordinator
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Las Vegas Twelfth Night Handbell Festival
is returning!
January 9, 2016
Desert Spring United Methodist Church
120 N Pavilion Center Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89144
Clinician Barbara Meinke will direct four massed ringing pieces and all groups will be invited to perform a solo piece.
This event is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America
To receive updates on this event, email me RIGHT NOW and I'll put you on the direct contact list, making sure you get all information as soon as it's available.
Alison Pruett
Southern Nevada Regional Coordinator
[email protected]
For information on Southern Nevada's concerts, events,
and other opportunities, click here.
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No. Nevada - Barb Walsh, Regional Coordinator
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Howdy!
Many of us bell ringers are winding down for the summer, but some of us are gearing up for our final concerts! If you would like to have your concert on the Area 12 website calendar, please send me your information and I'll pass it along.
We're just putting the final touches on the Umpteenth Young Ringers' Festival in Reno. By the time you read this, it'll be over, but I hope to have a report on it and pictures in this space next time!
Please remember the Zephyr Point Handbell Conference up at Lake Tahoe, July 26-30. It's the most beautiful place on earth to ring bells! (click on side bar ad for more info!)
Barbara Walsh
Northern Nevada Regional Coordinator
[email protected]
For information on Northern Nevada's concerts, events,
and other opportunities, click here.
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International Symposium 2016
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LA Metro - Scott Leggett, Regional Coordinator
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It's hard to believe summer is upon us!
Many of us still have some concerts to perform or attend as the traditional ringing season moves to the summer festivals. I'm looking forward to our national conference Pinnacle in Dallas July 16-19 and if you are planning to attend, please let me know so we can share some LA Metro time while we are there!
Plans are shaping up for our Fall Ringers Workshop which is geared for newer ringers, featuring basic technique classes and ringing of level 1+ to 2+ music. Look for more information next month.
Lastly, I would like some advice or tips from you on a troublesome topic; page turning. Turning pages is one of most troublesome parts of ringing; not so much playing over the page turn, but physically turning the page. I personally had a page turn melt down at the last concert with LA Bronze; I just could not get the page to turn. My sticky tab had disappeared, the corner itself had torn off from so much turning and my glove had no grip. Of course, we were playing Bugler's Holiday at breakneck speed and, before I knew it, I had missed a page and a half of playing! So, what are smart tricks for physically managing page turns? Of course, memorizing would be the perfect solution. Someone suggested using some music sleeves, other groups have two ringers to one stand to help, and then, of course, there are dog-ears and tabs and clothes pins. Please email me your thoughts and suggestions and I'll report back next month.
Scott Leggett
Los Angeles Metro Regional Coordinator
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Central California - Lori Smith, Regional Coordinator
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Hi CenCal,
I was chatting with a friend and she told me of a rather fun and effective experiment her bell choir did.
Tracy had recently come in as the new director. She ran the group through their existing repertoire to get a feel for their ringing style and level. When they came to "Silent Night," they rang it perfectly, with great technique and dynamics, but looked a bit bored. They explained it was a piece they played every year for the Christmas presentation. Could they ring it from memory? Sure. Why not? On the night of the Christmas presentation, the group rang through their repertoire for the evening. Tracy walked to the back of the sanctuary and turned off every light. Pitch black. The congregation began to wonder. Tracy made her way back to the music stand. She traded out her regular baton for a Glow-in-the-Dark white baton. Following her lead, the bell group raised their bells. They'd been wearing glow-in-the-dark wrist bands under their gloves, which were now visible to the congregation. An exclamation of, "Ooohhhhh" filled the room. The treble bells wore pink, the battery, yellow, and the bass, blue. To gather the congregation into quiet focus, one bass bell began slowing tolling four times. Then they commenced with "Silent Night." It was magical and the hit of the evening.
What hits do you have to share? Email me!
Lori Smith
Central California Regional Coordinator
For information on Central California's concerts, events,
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Hawaii - Karen Carlisle, Regional Coordinator
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