Greetings!

I am writing this just after Area 12's virtual conference Close Encounters of the Area 12 Kind, and could not be prouder of our Area, our board, and particularly the committee who put the event on. A lot of work and planning went into pulling this off in a short period of time and it exceeded all our expectations. I want to give a special shout out to Derek Nance who was the "Wizard Behind the Curtain" running the technology making it all seem seamless and effortless. To the hundreds to who were online the whole day, I hope you enjoyed your time and received some new ideas and skills, and most important a connection to others in Area 12.

Looking forward to Fall, our virtual and socially distanced life will continue in various ways across our Area, but your board is committed to support our members with more virtual events and gatherings, and sharing information on how groups are able to come back in various ways to give us ideas and inspiration. Although we are so physically apart right now and dealing with major life interruptions, we need each other more than ever for support and encouragement.

So, as I quoted in an earlier article, we need to keep turning these lemons into lemonade and go forth boldly.

'Til next time,
Scott
[email protected]

Hello, subscribers!

You may notice some changes to the format of The Twelfth Tone starting with next month's issue (September 2020).

Constant Contact, our newsletter platform, is updating their content creation tools and eliminating "legacy" templates. So we will be updating our look, too.

Don't worry, we'll continue to send you all of the great content that you've come to expect from Area 12 & the national organization. It will just look a little different, that's all.

See you next month!

Michèle Sharik,
Acting Newsletter Editor

Christine Anderson

on being named an
Honorary Life Member

of the Handbell Musicians of America!

Read all about her accomplishments at the Honorary Life Member Page.

Area 12 would like to thank our event committee and all who worked to make Close Encounters of the Area 12 Kind possible:

Tech host/producer

Derek Nance

Chat Moderators

Sandy Haynes (AM), Elizabeth Eggleston (PM)

Live Stream Hosts

Beth Mays (AM), Cyndi Tully (PM)

Event Logo Creator

Gretchen Rauch

Clinicians (in order of appearance)

Michèle Sharik, Stevie Berryman, Kendra Symonds, Karen Carlisle, Gail Berg, PL Grove, Elizabeth Mays, Linda Krantz, Tessique Houston, Brad Hendricks, Barb Walsh, Sharon Guilliams

Panelists (in order of appearance)

Sharon Guilliams, Alison Pruett, Michèle Sharik, Sandi Walker-Tansley, Stevie Berryman, Helena Broadbent, Tessique Houston, Karen Carlisle, Gail Berg, Kendra Symonds, Barb Walsh, Scott Leggett, Carol Pickford, Cyndi Tully, Brad Hendricks, Marquise Usher

Event Committee

Gail Berg, Sharon Guilliams, Sandy Haynes, Tessique Houston, Elizabeth Mays, Derek Nance, Kendra Symonds, Cyndi Tully, Marquise Usher, Barb Walsh

Video Creators
(Promo, Meeting/Game break, End credits, etc.)

Gail Berg, Helena Broadbent, Karen Carlisle, Sharon Guilliams, Tessique Houston, Elizabeth Mays, Alison Pruett, Kendra Symonds, Barb Walsh

Sponsors

Berg's Beads

Heitz Music

Twelfth Night (Las Vegas)

Hello, friends!

I hope that you are all doing well and that many of you were able to attend our virtual seminar, Handbell Encounters of the Area 12 Kind. Area 12 has always been known for trendsetting in the handbell world and this event certainly helped to lead the charge. On a personal note, it was a wonderful experience to be the morning host and to teach an afternoon class.

I would first like to thank everyone who participated in this event. All of the Area 12 Board worked very hard to put this event together very quickly, and thank you for all of your hard work in making the event a success! There were many people who you saw on screen, including our great clinicians, great panelists, and my fellow host, Cyndi Tully. However, there were also many people working behind the scenes including our Chat Moderators, Sandy Haynes and Elizabeth Eccleston. And I'd like to give a special thank you to our technical expert, Derek Nance, who did all of the technical preparation both in advance and on the day of the event. Thanks also to Tessique Houston for being our tech coordinator during the event and to all of our sponsors who sent us ads. Please check our YouTube channel to see the full credits and thanks for all of the participants.

I'd also like to say congratulations to all of our Game Winners! You can view a list of winners HERE. We will be contacting the winners soon to send your prizes!

If you were not able to attend the event on July 25th, the content is available to Handbell Musician of America members. Please reach out to your Regional Coordinator for information on how to receive access to the event content. If you are not in Area 12, please contact our Registrar, Sharon Guilliams, for information.

There is still time to donate to the event if you wish to help cover the costs of our teachers, hosts, and technical experts. You can donate via PayPal or contact our Treasurer for information on how to mail a check. We appreciate all your support!

We have gotten some great feedback so far. Our event Registrar, Sharon Guillams, has assembled some fascinating numbers on the event attendance and participation, so make sure to check out her article below! However, there is still time to submit your feedback form if you have not already done so, but don't wait! The deadline for returning the feedback form is Wednesday, August 5th. A link to the form was emailed to registered participants, but if you've misplaced it, you can click HERE for the form (FYI, the form will open in Google docs). While we are very proud of our first virtual event, there is always room for improvement. Please let us know what we did well and what we can work on for future events in Area 12. You will also be able to get information about follow-up class zoom sessions and receive an event Certificate.

So where does Area 12 go from here? While we are all eager for things to "return to normal", our conference demonstrated that we can still connect, educate, and socialize through handbells. It may be in a different format than we are used to, but handbell people are certainly adaptive! I am proud to be a part of this community and I hope that we will continue to take advantage of our level of technology to connect during this time of COVID, as well as using these resources for future events. Keep an eye on The Twelfth Tone and the Area 12 website -- or just keep scrolling! --- to see what offerings the Area 12 Board brings you next.

Thanks again for a great conference!

Elizabeth Mays,
Historian
[email protected]

What a fun conference!

As Registrar, I had the privilege of seeing a lot of the data as well as processing the "paperwork". Some of you may not know, I am an engineer by education and vocation, so I do like the data. So here goes:


389 Registered

• 135 - Area 12
• 254 - Outside Area 12 (including 16 from Canada, 1 from Singapore, and 1 from Finland)
• 250 - Average number of concurrent viewers in the AM session (peak 280)
• 200 - Average number of concurrent viewers in the PM session (peak 226)
• 174 - Total number of "Games" played
• 2003 - Total number of chat messages (We definitely connected with our handbell friends!)
• 133 - People asked to subscribe to The Twelfth Tone and this August Newsletter is their first. Welcome!
• 43 - Area 12 people asked for information about membership or sub membership
• 66 - Outside Area 12 people asked for information about membership or sub membership

For folks who asked about membership or sub membership, a membership coordinator (Lori Smith in Area 12) will be reaching out to you and providing information about joining. If you can't wait I would suggest you go to HMA's membership information page, which has a good summary of the benefits for members and sub members.

DIRECTORS - Sub membership is something that is done through YOU! So please become familiar with the process. It is relatively simple in that you provide the person's name and email who want sub membership and then pay the $10/person. HMA will then get in contact with the sub member and provide the sub member with their unique identifier. If you are inside Area 12 and have questions, email our Membership Coordinator, Lori Smith. Outside Area 12, you can email the Regional Membership Coordinators. Lori will be providing a more detailed article for the September Newsletter, but I wanted to make sure directors knew that questions may be coming your way.

Thanks again for a wonderful conference!

Sharon Guilliams,
Registrar
[email protected]

LAST CHANCE - Ordering deadline for Area 12 Member polo shirts is August 15, 2020

Show your #Area12Pride by ordering a member polo shirt!

Polo shirts are Kelly Green in color, made from 60/40 cotton/poly pique. Logo is embroidered on the upper left chest. Available in women's and men's sizes XS to 6X. $35 (postage included).

Click HERE for ordering details & size information.

Minutes for the Biennial Area 12 Meeting of the Membership, July 25, 2020

Twelve board members plus ten members participated.

Chair Scott Leggett noted our Area covers 255,000 square miles, the largest Area in the Handbell Musicians of America organization. We discussed the issues we face with social distance requirements, as well as possible future conference venues (including a return to the state of Hawaii). There was also discussion of substitute connections, and extending invitations for handbell activities to other music organizations (choral, band, etc.).

Submitted by Gail Berg,
Secretary
[email protected]

It's election year in Area 12!

We are now compiling a slate of candidates for the three elected offices on our Board of Directors: Secretary, Treasurer, and Chair-Elect.

Both the Secretary and Treasurer positions are two-year terms, with the ability (though not the obligation) to run again for a second term. Those positions may serve no more than two terms in a row (though they may run again at a later date). The Chair-Elect position is a total of six years: two as Chair-Elect, two as Chair, and two as Immediate Past Chair.

Our By-Laws require us to have two candidates for each elected office, so if you or someone you know is interested in joining the Area Board, please email Tessique Houston, our Immediate Past Chair, for more information.

Virtual Event: The Director As Teacher
September 12, 2020
9:30-1:30 PDT
via Zoom

$30 for HMA members
$40 for non-members
$40 for all registrations received after Sept 5, 2020

In this web meeting, instructors Barbara Walsh and Tessique Houston will cover different aspects of the Director as Teacher. Knowing your ringers and their skills, selecting music that fits your ringers and your needs, and score study to make your group their most successful. Attendance will be capped at 23, with a waiting list, if needed.

Registration will begin on August 12. Please see the Area 12 website for details.

Participants will need to have the following three pieces of music (please purchase whichever version, 2-3 oct. or larger, that would be most useful to you in the future):

• Despite the Storm by Cathy Moklebust, Choristers Guild CGB932 (2-3 oct. handbells with opt. Flute or Violin & opt. 2-3 oct. handchimes) or CGB933 (3-6 oct. handbells with opt. Flute or Violin & opt. 3-6 oct. handchimes), Level 3-
• Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee arr. by Arnold B. Sherman, Hope Publishing HP1652 (2-4 oct. handbells) or HP1851 (4-6 oct. handbells), Level 2/2+
• How Firm a Foundation arr. by Sandra Eithun, Choristers Guild CGB305 (2-3 oct. handbells) or CGB743 (3-5 oct. handbells), Level 1+

If you have any questions or need further information, please email Tessique Houston, Area 12 Past Chair.

This event is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America.

Hi, LA Metro --

While it has been nice to be busy with being a part of the Virtual Conference Committee, it has been a bit exhausting. However, in my role as Registrar, it was extremely fun and enlightening to see all the folks from the LA Metro Region sign-up and participate. It also made me a bit melancholy because I have not been able to get out and meet folks in the Region. We did not have the Spring Ring and Red, White, and Bells is postponed until 2022 for obvious reasons. I have been able to connect via email with some folks in my local area and learned things they are doing to have bells "carry on" and, in some cases, take on the role of choir, but I wish we could do more. I am not the type of person to say "woe is me" and stay stuck in melancholia or "I wish". It is usually: "there is the issue, let's solve it!"

To that end, I would like to invite ALL LA Metro directors and ringers to the first LA Metro Happy Hour on Thursday, August 6th at 6:30 pm (zoom information is below). Our initial purpose will be to chat and see who is doing what and what hurdles are out there. I would also like to hear from you what Handbell Musicians of America as a whole, and specifically we at LA Metro, can do for you. We will keep the chat to less than 60 minutes and will decide how often you would like to have our Happy Hour. One request that I have is that you pass the zoom call information to your choral directors and organists. They may not know how or what bells can do to bring "choir" music to their congregations at this time. They may not have even thought that bells could satisfy their singing choir member's desire to participate in the service. If you can not make the Happy Hour, please send me an email letting me know if you have incorporated bells into the worship experience during COVID-19 and what you are doing, and/or the hurdles you have to letting the bells ring.

Also: put April 17, 2021 on your calendar now. LA Metro will be having a Spring Ring. It may be in-person, it may be virtual, only time will tell!

I know some folks are really hurting now; please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.

As always, you can email me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Thursday, August 6th at 6:30 pm
LA Metro Happy Hour Zoom Meeting
COVID Ringing
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83184134194?pwd=Lys0eTRxN0l2VUp5Q2pWRXRPYzZSZz09
Meeting ID: 831 8413 4194
Passcode: 363362

(You don't have to be from the LA Metro area to participate - All are welcome.)

Stay safe!

Sharon Guilliams
[email protected]

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

Hi, Northern California!

Save the date:
Saturday, October 10, 2020
8:45 AM - 5:30 PM
Redding Handbell Festival
CrossPointe Community Church
Redding, CA

Massed Director: Tessique Houston
Red Zone Director: Barb Walsh
Registration: $35.00 per ringer
Classes and Massed Ringing

Click HERE for the registration form.

This event is endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America.

Sandi Walker-Tansley
[email protected]

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

Howdy!

This pandemic makes me feel overwhelmed, afraid, angry, and very, very sad. However, oddly enough, I also feel joy and gratitude. I am in absolute awe of and so grateful to those who focus on what they can do instead of what they can't and then they make things happen. Thank you so much to everyone who had anything to do with the Area 12 conference - the planning committee, the panelists and teachers, the incredible people who worked behind the scenes (especially the tech support!), and most especially the attendees for believing and supporting and being the reason for doing it!

Barbara Walsh
[email protected]

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

Hi there, SoCal!

Can you believe it's August already? In some ways, it feels like the year has flown by, but it also feels like it's dragging on and on and on.... Someone on Twitter identified this feeling as "blursday" and, for the most part, I have to agree. I've been finding it difficult to keep track of time (and the day of the week!) this year.

However, this July, I taught at the Area 12 Virtual Conference as well as at National Seminar and, while we were all sad that we couldn't attend in person, I was also amazed and grateful that we have the technology to be able to meet this way. There were many people at both events who said they wouldn't have been able to attend an in-person event, but the virtual format enabled them to come, learn, and fellowship with handbell people from all over the world. How wonderful is that?!

In other news, if you look up above in Sharon Guilliams' LA Metro article, she is offering a zoom call "Happy Hour" -- and you are all welcome to attend! Is this something you'd like to be offered for the SoCal Region? Please email me to let me know.

I've been meeting weekly with my church bell choir via zoom since the beginning of April. Somedays there are six or eight people on the call, and other days there are only two. We use the time to catch up with each other -- sometimes we even talk about bells, LOL.

Stay safe and healthy!

Michèle Sharik
[email protected]

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

Aloha!

I sat thinking of what I could write then came up with a slew of handbell stuff that has happened recently - and more that is yet to come.

In the wake of Hurricane Douglas - that thankfully missed all the Hawaiian Islands (but was too close for comfort) - many ideas and plans looking forward were on my mind. Planning for social distancing as my church group is starting back up was a big part of it. Rehearsals start tomorrow with a reduced group of ten or less. We'll be needing small tables or enough music stands for everyone. How to place everyone in the small sanctuary to practice and then record for a Zoom service - it's a lot. But I have a plan!

This past couple of months I have had great opportunities to attend virtual seminars. They gave a lot of information on the pandemic and looking forward, and presented opportunities to learn and be reminded of handbell skills of all sorts. I attended The Montreat Music and Worship Conference and still have some time to view their recorded sessions. National Seminar was amazing. It was early for me, but I was up each morning at 2:45 AM and attended as many sessions as I could. Then I spent days afterwards still watching classes I could not attend during the conference trying to absorb as much as I could. Then our own Area 12 Virtual Conference happened last Saturday and provided so many more learning opportunities. I'm so grateful I could attend all these conferences virtually. And I hope that some of you were able to take advantage of these events. I know that attending in person just couldn't have happened for me. The downside is I have extreme web burnout, but it was totally worth it.

I do want to give a shout out to the National and Area 12 Boards who pulled their virtual events together on such short timelines. And kudos to the instructors! Teaching to a camera is a hard task. Worrying about a time frame and wanting to get all the information in and not talking or conversing with those taking the classes - these are new challenges for most of us. The instructors and technical teams did an amazing job.

A positive note about COVID-19 is that it's highlighted that we have the ability to virtualize all of these events. And that we can still be a tight community and still provide the opportunity to learn from each other. I hope that there are more events like these as we have discovered what we can do as a community and to continue to move forward.

Mahalo, take care and be safe.

Karen Carlisle
[email protected]

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

Greetings, CenCal!

Christine D. Anderson
[email protected]

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

Hey, Bay Area!

Your Regional Coordinator,
Marquise Usher
[email protected]

For information on San Francisco Bay Area's concerts,
events, and other opportunities, click here.

Stay safe, Southern Nevada!

Alison Pruett
[email protected]

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