Our board had the opportunity to meet together and via Zoom in mid-September. We continued to work on our two conferences planned for 2024. Save the dates of June 20-22 for “Go Nuts with Area 12 in Modesto” and September 27-28 for the youth conference, “Bellz! The Next Generation.” We are truly excited to share in these fantastic events with you!

Membership in Handbell Musicians of America has many benefits. See the article below written by our membership director for a list of the benefits. If you are not a member, I encourage you to consider joining by going to handbellmusicians.org and click on the “Join HMA” button in the top right corner of the opening page. 

Don’t forget to check out Area 12’s website at https://area12.handbellmusicians.org. There are resources available for you there, including information about upcoming events in each region, as well as information on our bell/chime loan program. Always know that your board is here to assist you in any way we can. Please reach out to any of us if you have questions. 

1. I would like to extend an invitation to all of you handbell instructors out there to please propose some ideas for a class or classes you would like to teach. Please also indicate the audience for this proposed class (that is, who do you think would benefit, such as beginning, intermediate, or advanced ringers, or beginning, intermediate, or advanced bell directors, community group ringers, church ringers, etc., etc.). Even if you’ve never taught a handbell class before, this is your chance to impart some great handbell information!
2. I would also like to ask ringers to please tell me what class topics you think would be a great addition to the conference (even if you don’t want to be the teacher for it). Remember Area 12 is here to serve YOU and we can do that better if we know your needs, wants, and/or interests. 

Please email your ideas to me at ChairElect.Area12@HandbellMusicians.org. I look forward to receiving many great class ideas!

Have a great October!

-Michèle 

Friday and Saturday | September 27/28, 2024

Concordia University, Irvine

Tim Waugh, Clinician

Benefits:

• Members-only rates for Handbell Musicians of America National and Area events
• Opportunity to participate in HMA National’s Distinctly Bronze and Master Series programs
• One vote in Area and National elections
• Subscription to Overtones (HMA quarterly journal)
• Scholarship and grant opportunities
• Online musical, educational, and administrative resources

If you have any questions about membership feel free to reach out to your local Regional Coordinator or me! You can reach me at membership.area12@handbellmusicians.org 

Cathryn Griggs

Membership Director Area 12 

Massed Music: 

                           Festival Intrada by Jeffrey Honore; AG35254, 3-5 Octaves

                           Siyahamba by Hal H. Hopson; Code 1869, 3-5 Octaves

                           Air and Hornpipe by Sondra K. Tucker; NMHB673, 3-5 Octaves

                           On The Road Again arr. by Tammy Waldrop; RRBL5101, 3-5 Octaves

Red Zone Song: SWAY, by Pablo Beltran Ruiz, arr. by Sandra Eithun

Classes: Basic Bell Trees, Change Ringing on the Bell Tree, Revving Up for the Red Zone Bronze Choir (dare to challenge yourself with this class with lots of hands on help), Score Marking for Success for Ringers and Directors, Anything But Ringing (Notation Class), and Reading Session of New Music (you will be able to purchase the music that day).

Clinicians: Ellie Hodder, Barb Walsh, Mary Balkow, Keith Mockford, and Julie Hunziker

Closing Concert open to the public: 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Registration forms are available on the Area 12

calendar or by clicking the button above.

The 12th Night Handbell Festival is endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America, dedicated to uniting people through the musical art of handbell and handchime ringing. www.handbellmusicians.org

A full-service handbell store

with music and accessories:

gloves • gifts

maintenance items

mallets • binders

bell tree items

Malmark products

visit us at

www.heitzhandbells.com

612-208-1741

877-426-3235



heitzhandbells@yahoo.com

7209 Morgan Ave S Richfield, MN 55423

ADVERTISEMENT 6/23

Playing as Part of a Musical Line - Part 1

Have you ever listened to a piece of bell music and thought that it was nice, but it didn’t feel like there was anything to it?  Often, we forget as ringers and directors that we need to bring out the musical lines, especially the melody, in order to make sense of the music and to make it more meaningful for our listeners.  

As the director, don’t assume that everyone in the ensemble knows who is playing the melody or that they even recognize the melody! Take the time to point out the notes playing the melody/musical line. Stem direction can be a great visual clue or sometimes there are tenuto marks – horizontal lines above or below the notes to be brought out. Then have just those notes played so that everyone in the ensemble can hear it and be aware of who is doing what and when.

Playing the musical/melodic line notes louder is important, but since bells are visual, we can also use our bodies to show where the attention should be focused. Playing those notes a bit more up in the air and/or leaning toward the audience will draw attention to the musical line. To go a step further, have the ringers “pass off” the notes to each other by everyone looking at the ringer with the melodic note. 

Then there’s the whole idea of phrasing – making aural shapes out of the musical line to impart meaning. That sounds SO intimidating, right? I tried something on brand new ringers a couple of weeks ago that really seemed to click for them. Since this article is already getting a bit long, I’ll share what we did in next month’s newsletter.