Greetings all, from Eastern North Carolina.

My surroundings here this last week of August could not be more different than my home in the Los Angeles suburbs, sitting on the shore of a beautiful river with a 180-degree view of the water and wildlife.

I'm finding this last respite of the summer invigorating but my mind can't help but wander thinking of the new season of ringing at my church and community group. Will everyone return? Who will venture out, be brave and join, what will I program after I see what skill level I have to work with? All the exciting unknowns!

Besides our individual ringing life beginning, there are many area events on the calendar to really get your Fall underway with bang (or should I say "with a mart"?). Please do consider attending as you can for your own growth, and to support our area as well.

Your Area 12 board is having our Fall meeting the weekend of September 20-21 in Las Vegas, the site of our conference next July. Our meetings are open to all members of the Area, and if you have interest in attending please contact a member of the board for more information. The minutes of the meeting will be available shortly after the conclusion of the meeting.

Lastly, our Communications Director, Barbara Meinke, has decided to step down from her position on the board after many years of amazing service to the area and to all of us. She of course is one of our premier handbell conductors, and will continue to be active in our area. We are so thankful for her service, and do hope in future she will consider serving again. We do want to fill this position, and if you or someone you know would be interested in the role, please let me know and I will be happy to share the details.

'Til next time,
Scott Leggett
Chair
[email protected]

Getting Ready: The Road to Vegas 2020

The first article in a series about attending the Area 12 Ringer's Conference.

Area 12 Conference in Las Vegas, July 2-5, 2020

Fall (almost) Greetings!

School bells are ringing, handbell directors are busy making plans for the fall and Holiday seasons, and excited ringers return to the bell tables. Did you know that now is the best time to begin your planning to attend our Area 12 Ringer's Conference that will be held in Las Vegas next summer? I hope everyone has marked July 2-5, 2020 on your calendars and are planning to attend! The Area 12 Conference Committee has been working hard to prepare all the information you need to help you get on "The Road to Vegas"! We want to make sure you know that we have heard your feedback and the Vegas 2020 Conference will include massed & divisional ringing EACH DAY! There will also be a Youth Conference as well as Certification classes.

Maybe you have never attended a Ringer's Conference. Maybe you haven't attended conference for a while. Maybe you are an Area 12 Conference veteran and can share ideas on how to prepare for conference.

Here are some of my ideas to get you started: Did you know that our Area 12 Ringer's Conferences are open to anyone who is affiliated with Handbell Musicians of America? We welcome anyone who is interested in growing as a handbell musician! You can come as a full choir. You can come as a partial choir. You can even come solo and make new handbell friends. There is so much to learn you don't want to miss this opportunity! There is something magical about sharing a room with a few hundred people who share you love of handbells. The sound of everyone ringing together as one is unforgettable.

What do I do now to get ready?

1. Take a look at all the information that is available on our Conference webpages and share the link with all your ringers:
   http://area12.handbellmusicians.org/2020-conference/
2. Spend some time looking at the Repertoire selections for the Conference. The conference committee, board, and clinicians have done all the homework for you and have selected a wide variety of music to consider. Maybe one or more of these pieces will work for you this year as you plan your music for the year. If you have already performed a conference piece in worship or a concert you know you are ready for Vegas!
3. Look at the music for each Division and decide what works best for you.
1. Division A is for musicians ringing on smaller sets of bells, or looking for music that works for less experienced ringers.
2. Division B is for musicians ringing on any size set of bells, and looking for music that offers some challenges.
3. Division C is for musicians who have lots of experience or are looking to ring music that may be more challenging than what you normally ring.
4. Massed Ringing is for EVERYONE! All conference attendees come together and work on these combined pieces and often provide great teaching moments to help grow musicianship.
5. All of this music will be presented in a final concert on Sunday afternoon.
4. While it is fun to ring all the music, no one is required to prepare all the music for the Massed Ringing and their selected Division. You can select only the titles that work for your group and begin learning the music now. It is OK to sit out a piece! You can learn a lot just by watching and listening.
5. Consider attending a local Area 12 event like the Spring Rings. Several Spring Rings in 2020 are also using music from the Vegas 2020 Repertoire list! This gives you more rehearsal time on these pieces. Plus, you can introduce your musicians to massed ringing.
6. Spread out learning the music over the year. By taking 9-10 months to work on the pieces you can learn more that you thought possible!

Do you have ideas on early preparations that I did not include here? Send me an email and maybe we can create a list of ideas to help others. Would you like to volunteer to help another director prepare for conference, or just in general? Maybe you are new to handbells and directing and you have questions or would love to have a mentor? Let us know and we can help you!

We hope you will bring yourself or your whole bell team to our Vegas 2020 Conference and learn some great music from some great conductors and teachers.

Debbie Shaw
Area 12 Events Director
[email protected]

Beth Mays is Area 12's Historian. Twice each year, she will share a story from Area 12's history.

Hello my fellow handbell musicians! As you all aware, this month we will be having our fall board meeting during which we will be checking out the site for the upcoming 2020 Conference in Las Vegas! It's going to be a great event and as we continue with the planning, I find myself thinking of my first Area 12 Conference. It was in 2004 in Ontario, California, with David Davidson at the podium.

 
This was a life-changing experience. Not only did I meet wonderful handbell friends and learned more than I ever thought possible in just a few days, I saw that this world of handbells was far broader and more connected than I could have imagined at the time. I often think back to this conference and how inspired I was after it was over. 

 
What are your favorite memories from your first Area 12 Conference? Send your stories and pictures to [email protected]. I would love to hear these special moments that inspired you!

Greetings

I hope everyone is looking forward to the start of the ringing season. If you would like to kick start your season, there is still time to sign up for Bell Jubilee on September 14, down in Dana Point. Right now it looks like we will have 40 handbell musicians. There is always room for more. More information is available here. And don't forget the Pasadena Fall Fun Ring on October 18-19. Information and registration forms are available here. (These events are endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America.) Check out the LA Metro Calendar to see all upcoming events.

I want to officially announce our clinicians and repertoire for Ringin' at Red Hill - 2020 Spring Ring, March 20 and 21, in Tustin, California. Our clinicians are Matthew Compton and Erik Der. Matthew is a composer and director. He most recently taught "Beyond the Black and White" at National Seminar in which he talked about feeling the emotion of a piece and interpretation, rather than just reading the notes, and a four-session series called "Music of Young Composers." Erik is a graduate of Concordia, Irvine, a phenomenal ringer and directs several local choirs.

The Spring Ring is an awesome opportunity to ring with fellow handbell musicians and learn from someone other than your regular director. It does take preparation, but it has always been worth it to me, when I have attended. Registration will open in November, but I know that some folks have music budgets to consider so I wanted to announce the repertoire. Please note that four of the pieces are also on the repertoire list for the Area 12 Conference in Las Vegas. So, if you come to Spring Ring, you will have a leg up on prepping for Vegas!

Division 1 led by Erik Der

• Grace All Sufficient* - Sondra Tucker, Casa Publications, HB034, Level 2, 3-6 Octaves
• Fantasy on Kingsfold - H. Dean Wagner, Hope Publishing Company, 2134, Level 2+, 3-6 Octaves

Division 2 led by Matthew Compton

• The Lord's My Shepard, I'll Not Want - Alex Guebert, Choristers Guild, CGB979, Level 3+, 3-7 Octaves
• Canticle - Matthew Compton, Beckenhorst Press, Inc., HB588-2, Level 3+, 3-7 Octaves
• Toccata on King's Weston - M. Compton, Agape Hope Publishing, Code No. 2767, Level 3+, 3-6 Octaves

Massed Ringing led by both Matthew and Erik

• America the Beautiful* - Arnold Sherman, Red River Music, HB0002, Level 3, 3-6 Octaves
• Soliloquy for Bells* - Karen Buckwalter, Harold Flammer Music, HP5175, "easy-medium," 3-5 Octaves
• Fervent Freedom* - Michael Mazzatenta, AGEHR, TBD (Area 12 Composition Contest Winner), Level 3, 3-5 Octaves

* denotes Area 12 Vegas Conference pieces

This event is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America.

The Area 12 board will be meeting at the same time, on the same campus as the LA Metro Spring Ring. This represents a unique opportunity for attendees of the Spring Ring to meet and mingle with the folks that work very hard to keep the handbell musicians in California, Hawaii, and Nevada moving forward. We have scheduled a barbecue Friday night to facilitate this and then board members may come and ring during the Friday night rehearsal. Come out meet the board and share your thoughts!

If you have any questions, or would like to help with the Spring Ring, feel free to drop me a line.

Sincerely,
Sharon Guilliams
[email protected]

For information on LA Metro's concerts, events,
and other opportunities, click here.

Aloha!

As I am busily getting ready for the start of a new season, I wanted to share a story with you.

Many of my ringers go to different churches. This past Sunday, my group packed everything up and went to another church to ring in their services. I love that this group has no problem going outside of their home church to do this for a fellow ringer. It's part of the bond they share - coming together to do things for others - and it shows in their dedication to each other.

Mark your calendar!
Aloha Ring
Clinician: Ellie Hodder
Saturday, November 9, 2019
8:30 am - 2:45 pm
Aiea United Methodist Church
99-101 Laulima Street
Aiea, HI 96701

Mahalo,
Karen Carlisle
[email protected]

For information on Hawaii's concerts, events,
and other opportunities, click here.

Hi there, SoCal!

The other day, I attended a meeting about the upcoming 2020 US Census. As I'm sure you know, the US Constitution mandates that every person be counted every 10 years in order to ensure proper representation for all people. Their voices can't be heard if they're not represented. 

It got me thinking: how do we in Area 12 make sure that all of our people are properly represented and their voices heard? Area 12 is one of the largest areas in the Handbell Musicians of America guild - it encompasses California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the US Pacific Islands (such as Guam) - that's a lot of real estate to cover!

One thing Area 12 does well (in my opinion) is having appointed Regional Coordinators to cover the various parts of our area. In addition to having an "RC" for general geographic regions (such as NorCal, SoCal, North NV, South NV, Hawaii), there are also RCs for Metropolitan areas (such the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles). These are in addition to our elected officers who run the administrative functions of the Area 12 organization. Each RC's job is to serve the needs of their region, but we need YOUR help to do that in the most effective and efficient way.

I love to hear from my SoCal handbell peeps and hope you will use me as your resource for any assistance you might need with your handbell program. If I can't help you myself, I'm sure I can put you in contact with someone who can. The handbell community is full of people who love to help each other and I hope you will take full advantage of the resource that is Area 12. Email me and let me know what you're doing - whether it's a church service, a community concert, or even playing chords along with Christmas caroling - no event is too small!

Let your voice be heard! 

 

Save the date:

Saturday, May 23, 2020

SoCal Spring Ring

featuring music from the Vegas 2020 Conference!

My best,
Michèle Sharik
[email protected]

The assignments are finished! The books have been filled with new music and the handbells have been polished! What's next? Well, for my church groups, we have a back to bells party! So many stories to share and so little time.... 

Once we've caught up and have all filled ourselves with treats, we review all the important calendar dates for the season. The dates when we play in church and what rehearsals we may cancel due to holidays. Deciding whether to play Christmas Eve or the Sunday before. And of course Cupertino Spring Ring and the Area 12 Conference!

Dates are super important to us all as we schedule our own concerts and workshops. Head on over to the Area 12 website, click on the "Events" tab and share your event information!

I want to hear about your upcoming concerts and events. Be on the look out for updates on Area 12's upcoming events!