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Our National
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Message from the Chair -
Scott Leggett
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Greetings, everyone!
As the first full month of fall gets underway, most of our handbell activities are going in earnest and I always find it invigorating to have new music to learn, catch up with friends from the summer break, and meet new ringers.
The Area 12 board of directors held our fall meeting in September and came away very excited about our upcoming year. We celebrated recent successful events, including the Intro to Massed Ringing workshop in Nevada and the Director's Workshop. We reviewed plans for other sponsored and endorsed events coming up this fall and winter, as well as the multiple Spring Ring opportunities after the new year. We discussed at length how we as a board can better reach out and serve those individual ringers who may not have an opportunity to ring in their church or community, as well as reaching bell choirs in our school and offering education in handbell ringing to teachers.
Our election results should be announced very soon and I look forward to working with the newly-elected members. I also want to thank the current board for their commitment and work for Area 12 during this transition time.
We have openings for a Webmaster and LA Metro Regional Coordinator. If you are interested or know of someone please let me know.
One last thought on my Support and Grow campaign for Area 12. I need you to support and grow your concerts and events by placing them on the
Area 12 events calendar. Any handbell activity may be submitted for the calendar, not just concerts and sponsored or endorsed events, and it's a perfect place to find a concert in our very large area. Please support our art and each other by
adding your handbell activities to the calendar.
Happy Ringing,
Scott Leggett
Chair
Note: Scott, Tessique, and Michèle will be keeping their current ChairElect, Chair, and PastChair emails until the conclusion of this year's election. Look for changes in next month's issue!
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Communiqué - Barbara Meinke
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Northern California - Sandi Walker-Tansley
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Saturday, October 13
Simpson University
Redding, CA
Massed director: Mary Balkow
Red Zone Bronze director: Barb Walsh
Registration fee per person: $35.00
Classes Offered: Beginning Bell Trees, Bell Maintenance,
Basic Techniques and More, Reading Session (purchase that music the same day), Tips for a More Productive Rehearsal, Percussion Instruments Used with Handbells
This event is endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America
Sandi Walker-Tansley
For information on Northern California's concerts, events,
and other opportunities,
click here
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Southern Nevada - Alison Pruett
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The 24th Las Vegas
clinician - Michael Glasgow
January 11 - 12, 2019
Boulder City Recreation Center
This event is endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America
Alison Pruett
For information on Southern Nevada's concerts, events,
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Los Angeles Metro - COULD BE YOU!
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Hi there, LA Metro!
I'm happy to be your Acting Regional Coordinator for a couple of months. If you have any questions or need support for any of your handbell activities, please let me know; I'm here to help YOU!
Several Los Angeles-based groups are performing this fall all around LA and Orange Counties, so check out the
LA Metro Region's calendar to see if there's a concert happening near YOU!
And here's where I need your help: Area 12 is collecting lists of the repertoire used at area and regional festivals. Do any of you have programs from any of the LA Metro Spring Rings? I have them from 2011, 2017, & 2018, but still need any others we can find. Programs from any other Area 12 events are also welcome! If you have any, please
email me!
Best wishes for a wonderful October!
Michèle Sharik
Acting LA Metro Regional Coordinator
For information on LA Metro's concerts, events,
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Southern California - Michèle Sharik
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Hi there, SoCal!
Southern California-based groups are performing this fall in San Diego County, so check out the
SoCal Region's calendar to see if there's a concert happening near YOU!
Our 2019 Spring Ring repertoire has been chosen! Registration forms and other information should be available by November 1st. The event is Friday and Saturday, May 17-18 in Oceanside.
Massed
(conducted by Alex Guebert)
rehearses Saturday:
Triptic Dance by Pierre Beauchamp, arr. Michèle Sharik. Level 2. The Golden Dance TGD1026. 3-5 octaves handbells, 2 octaves handchimes, plus optional percussion. Reproducible score is available for purchase here:
Exultation
by Matthew Compton. Level 2+. AGEHR Publishing 35371. 3-5 octaves handbells.
Gabriel's Oboe
by Ennio Morricone, arr. by Kevin McChesney. Level 3. Jeffers Publishing JHS9543. 3-5 octaves handbells.
Bound for South Australia, traditional, arr. by Alex Guebert. Level 2+. Unpublished. 3-5 octaves handbells plus percussion. Purchase here:
Bronze Vision
(conducted by Alex Guebert)
for ringers wanting more of a challenge - rehearses Friday night and Saturday morning before the massed ringing.
Be Still My Soul
by Jean Sibelius, arr. by Alex Guebert. Level 5. Jeffers Publishing JHS9570. 4-7 octaves handbells.
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
by Martin Luther, arr. by Cynthia Dobrinski. Level "Medium-Advanced" (Probably 4+). Hope Publishing 1611. 3-5 octaves handbells.
This year, we'll also be adding a
Beginner's Track
Open to individuals or groups. Participants will rehearse on Friday night and Saturday morning before the massed ringing.
3 Pieces for Lent and Easter, traditional, arr. by Karissa Dennis. Lorenz Publishing 20/2031L. 2-3 octaves handbells or handchimes. We will do two of the three pieces included in the folio: "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" (Level 1) and "Now the Green Blade Rises" (Level 1+).
We will also work on
Triptic Dance and
Bound for South Australia from the massed ringing repertoire.
This event is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America
And since next spring a a long wait, enjoy this NOW!
workshop & free concert
November 3, 2018
Temecula United Methodist Church
42690 Margarita Rd
Temecula, CA 92592
This event is endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America
Until next month,
Michèle Sharik
For information on Southern California's concerts,
events,
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Central California - Christine Anderson
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Hi, CenCal!
OK, so here's the deal. I received only three responses to my emails asking for input from CenCal ringers and directors. I truly want to get to know y'all! I want to listen to your concerns, find out about your events, see what I can do to encourage you. From those three replies, it sounds like there's a real need for more basic workshops, more level 1-2 music at our Spring Rings. What do YOU have to say? Just reply!
Would anyone be interested in setting up an informal "meet and greet" within an hour's drive of where you live? I will drive the distance just to get to know who's in my region. Just reply!
Do you check the
calendar of events on the Area 12 site? There are fabulous concerts and opportunities to participate in workshops and festivals! Remember to
submit your events for our calendar, and please submit them to me, too. Sometimes an event is outside CenCal but actually close to where you are, so please check regions adjoining yours.
Finally, if you know of any organizations with unused bells, let me know so we can encourage and mentor them to get those bells ringing again!
Christine Anderson
For information on Central California's concerts, events,
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Northern Nevada - Barb Walsh
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Howdy!!
One of the many benefits of belonging to the Handbell Musicians of America is getting to work with many other handbell musicians and share ideas. A subject we often discuss is score preparation. This doesn't come from just directors, but ringers as well, wanting to know how to prepare and 'get inside' a piece of music. Over the next few months, I'll share ideas I've accumulated over the years.
One of the first things I ask myself when preparing a score is what's the purpose/intent/style of the piece. Is it a hymn or some other song with lyrics? If so, then I look up the text. Does the bell arrangement reflect the mood of the words? Are there certain words or phrases that have strong imagery? Does the music match that? That's appropriately called
text painting. You'll want to portray that through the performance, so share your discovery with your director and other ringers to help work out phrasing, which notes should be brought out, what kind of ringing stroke you should use to convey the emotion you want, etc.
If the piece is music without words, it should still tell a story. The ensemble and/or director then gets to decide what the story will be! Is the piece a classical transcription? Listening to the original composition will help you decipher how to make the bell part be authentic to that style. The same goes for other genres such as spirituals and jazz. If the piece is an original bell piece, see if you can find a performance that you like on YouTube or go to the publisher's website to listen to the demo recording. If your keyboard skills are good, try playing it on the piano to unlock the secrets. I'm so jealous of people who can do that!
One last, but very obvious thing - many handbell composers include why they wrote the piece and what the sections mean to them. Remember to read the dedications and notes they include with their compositions!
Join me next month for "Finding the Pieces to the Puzzle."
For information on Northern Nevada's concerts, events,
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San Fransisco Bay Area - Kendra Scott
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Hi Bay Area!
It was a pleasure to host your Area 12 board at my home a few weeks back. We have lots of exciting events in the works! It was also great to see you all tune in to our Facebook Live broadcast of Tessique and Scott ringing the B#5 as we transitioned from one leader to the next.
October seems like a quiet time for handbells. We've gotten over the flurry of starting the rehearsal season and, for most of us, the concerts are still a few months away. It is a time of routine. As a director, I'm hoping to build new routines which will benefit my ringers over the long term. I'm trying to incorporate more musicianship into my community ensemble rehearsals. We're starting every rehearsal with stretches (something we should have been doing long ago) and mini lessons on music concepts: how to count 12/8, the best way to weave, addressing any particular trouble spots for new ringers, before playing any of the concert repertoire. I intend to apply the rehearsal techniques I know work for my choir and orchestra classes to the handbell idiom. So far so good!
As always, we want to hear what you're up to! Check out our
events calendar to find happenings near you and
add your own concerts, workshops, etc. to it so we can support you too!
Happy ringing!
For information on San Francisco
Bay Area's concerts, events,
and other opportunities,
click here
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