Pinnacle July 15-19, 2015 in Dallas TX. It is not too late to register for this National Event. There are classes for all level of ringer, directors and a myriad of showcase concerts featuring some of the best handbell groups around the country. That this opportunity to make connections and learn from the best in our field and come home inspired for a new ringing season-check it out on handbellmusicians.org. 

     One of my first memories of bells with little children was at a handbell festival in the Greater Seattle area under the direction of Bobbi Benjamin. That was over 25 years ago. One of the groups that played was made up of little ones - dressed in red, white and blue. They played chords to a patriotic medley and I remember the audience responding with great enthusiasm. The children's smiles beamed almost as brightly as their handbells.

     Although I've never been brave enough to start a pre-school handbell program, I have had the privilege of sharing handchimes with our St. Matthew Preschool children. Tonia Andersen, director, (who plays in one of our church's handbell groups) wants her students to be exposed to all types of musical instruments. Having bells, chimes and a director on site makes for a great opportunity.

     This spring, Tonia asked me to share our instruments with the children as they studied "sounds." Bells and chimes are perfect for demonstrating qualities such as tone, pitch, and dynamics. We sang a simple song accompanied by a bell tree and were able to easily hear and observe that different sized bells make different sounds. Our seven octaves of Malmark chimes are great when demonstrating how very low sounds can be felt as well as heard. We played a game with our Suzuki handchimes. Four little ringers stood in front of the group and each rang a very different sized chime. The group was asked to shut their eyes and one of the ringers rang his chime. The group was then asked if they could guess who it was who rang the chime. They got it! Low sounds - big chimes, high sounds - little chimes.

     What a great way to give young potential musicians a chance to "make a sound" that actually sounds good! Our chimes have been played in worship, on mission trips, in retirement residences, at community concerts, in the classroom, at Distinctly Bronze West, in an ICU unit, at a neighborhood caroling party and the list goes on. Chimes are a perfect instrument for a hands-on musical experience involving a broad spectrum of ages and abilities.

     If you are interested in applying for a year's use of one of Area 10's three octave loaner handchime sets, application forms are available through our website, area10.handbellmusicians.org. Applications are due June 1. Each state has 1 (or 2) 3-octave sets (plus curriculum) to loan to educational programs in schools and churches! That one year of chiming may encourage your school, church, community to invest in the purchase of your own set of chimes OR handbells. And who knows, those chimes might even provide the opportunity to start a preschool chime choir?

Shosh Meyer

Oregon Chair

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Susan Johnson and two of her young ringers from St. Luke Lutheran.

    Thank You to Anne Stephenson for Hosting a VERY Successful Bell Tree Workshop! Anne is Director of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Portland's White Chapel handbell choir. Recently she held a Bell Tree Workshop at Westminster led by the talented Barbara Brocker. Along with being an outstanding bell tree performer, Barbara has produced myriad resources for up and coming bell tree enthusiasts. Barbara's expertise provided an excellent opportunity for first timers as well as experienced musicians. Everyone left the event with ideas and plans for implementing those visions into their venues.

Georgia Roelof working on a piece.

     Area 10 - Oregon hopes to hear about some of the creative results of that training.   State chairs would also like to know if you have an interest in hosting a workshop or teaching a workshop in your area. We would all like to support creative educational opportunities in  10.

Shosh Meyer

Oregon Chair

Friday & Saturday, May 1 & 2 - Siskiyou Summit Handbell Conference, Larry Sue, clinician, Ashland. See article above for additional information.