Next Area 12 Board Meeting (virtual):
SPRING 2022 | March 18-19, 2022 ••• Friday, 10-4; Saturday 10-3
Scott Leggett
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. Elections will be held this spring with the terms for our new officers beginning this fall. Now is the time to step up and take an active role in leading Area 12 in our mission or suggest someone who you feel would be good candidate.

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 Scott Leggett, our Immediate Past Chair, at pastchair.area12@handbellmusicians.org, for more information.
  
Scott Leggett
Bronzer Here –
Congratulations to Maggie P. who was our first registrant for Red, White & Bells. Woo Hoo!!! Regarding registration, Sharon, our registrar wanted to pass on to you all that the 2020 3.5% processing fee is GONE! Woo Hoo!!!
I received this lovely letter from our Conference Choir clinician, P.L. Grove.
PL Headshot Resized
Hi, Bronzer!

Thanks for helping to advertise the opportunity to ring in Fireworks Carillon this summer! I wanted to add a little something to help people who might be on the fence as to whether to audition.
As I’ve traveled to handbell events around the country, I sometimes find ringers who are a bit timid about auditioning for their area conference choir. I think it’s because they don’t know what I know:

  • They don’t know that many groups, like Sonos, were started because of ringers just like them, ringers who excelled in their church group and wanted an extra challenge.

  • They don’t know that the handbell notation system is just a “guide,” and many songs rated Level 5, while challenging, are “possible.”

  • They don’t know that the phrase “mind over matter” really does work!

  • For many solid ringers, they don’t know how good they are! Since they don’t have a basis of comparison, really good ringers may not even realize that they are really good!

  • They don’t know that being in a room with 10-12 other excited, talented musicians will make you do things you never thought you could do in just two days. [Note: we actually have room for up to 28 ringers!]

But I know all of this. And it’s why I encourage intermediate-to-advanced ringers who have even remotely considered ringing in the conference choir to sign up. Now is your time!

Thanks again, Bronzer, for getting this message out to all the ringers. I'll see you in Las Vegas this summer.

P.L. Grove
P.L. will challenge you, but meet you where you are, all the while making you laugh while you learn. Make sure to ask her about Velocity ringing at the Belmont Conference in 2006. Those were the days! (Hee Hee). The repertoire PL has selected fits the Red, White & Bells theme, but are not necessarily the pieces you would initially choose.

The process to be accepted into the Conference Choir includes:

  • Complete the application, including what part(s) you prefer to play. You can also amplify things. For example, I am really really good, but I only play D5/E5.

  • Get your director’s recommendation.

  • Provide a link or supply a video showing you playing. If it is a video of your group playing, please describe where you are within the group and what part you were playing.

After the deadline of March 13,2022, the conference choir members will be selected and their parts assigned. Notification of selection to the Fireworks Carillon will be completed by March 20th. Selected conference choir members are expected to purchase the music, register for Red, White & Bells, and begin practicing. Please remember to wait on your registration until you have heard that you have been accepted into the Conference Choir. Martalina and I are trying to find some good videos of us playing so we can apply. I want to play the low low bass. Love the bass.
Solo Performances
There are still opportunities to perform a piece or two at Red, White & Bells, while our Showcase Concerts groups are finalized, we do have room for a couple more groups to share one or two pieces with conference participants. If you are interested in doing this, please contact Alison to express your interest and we will help you through the application process. We would like to firm up things by March 1, 2022.
Upcoming Dates Associated with Red, White & Bells
  • February 15 - Scholarship Applications are due.

  • March 1 – Deadline to express interest in performing solo piece

  • March 13 - Conference Choir Applications Due

  • March 20 – Conference Choir Parts assigned/notified
Bell Table Talks
February
February Bell Table Talks will be fun. We are going to have a live demonstration of the registration process. So, bring your questions and stump the registrar …. if you can. Also, Michele Sharik and Sharon Guilliams will be discussing Spring Rings in general, how to prepare for the spring rings, and how the spring rings can be used as tools to prepare for the Vegas Conference.


  • Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 7:00 pm Pacific

  • Sunday, February 20, 2022, at 3:00 pm Pacific
I guess I should at least start looking at some of the music. Martalina is harping on me that I won’t be prepared. Man sometimes she’s …….but I still will get her a BIG bouquet of flowers for Valentines Day.

Bronzer
Red, White & Bells is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America, dedicated to uniting people through the musical art of handbell and handchime ringing.
Regional Updates
Marquise Usher
For information on Bay Area concerts, events, and other opportunities, click here.  
2022 Bay Area Spring Ring Canceled
Handbell Ventures regrets announcing the cancellation of the 2022 Bay Area Spring Ring.
 
Covid numbers in both Santa Clara County and the entire San Francisco Bay Area are at an all-time high, and this is quite concerning. We’ve informally polled handbell ringers and directors in the area, and many report that they are not ringing at this time. So our secondary concern is whether handbell groups will be meeting to rehearse and be ready for an event in April, even if the Covid numbers were to subside.
 
Like so many handbell musicians around the world, we are heartbroken at having to cancel yet another event. But we strongly believe that the safety of our musicians is important.
 
We look forward to welcoming everyone back to next year’s Bay Area Spring Ring.
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Barbara Walsh
For information on Northern Nevada concerts, events, and other opportunities, click here.  
Howdy!
Save the date for the Sierra Spring Ring! (More details later.)

May 14, 2022
Sparks United Methodist Church
1231 Pyramid Way
Sparks, Nevada

Page turns are the bane of most every musician, including handbell ringers. Don’t you wish you could have a person turning your pages like your accompanists did on your recitals? Many pianists and some handbell musicians have found using a tablet solves the problem.  However, many of us are still doing it the old-fashioned way – turning paper pages. One of the benefits of sharing folders is that often one of you can get the page turned, but not always. Many bell groups don’t share folders so that’s not a solution for them.
There seem to be two things that make page turns difficult – the physical grabbing of the page, and getting it turned in time. 

For grabbing the page, I’ve seen lots of people use those tiny clothespins. I seem to keep squeezing the clothespin and remove it from the page rather than turning it. Those stick on tabs seem to work pretty well, but it sure makes the folder fat if you use it on a whole concert’s worth of music. I’m in the dog ear camp. Not ideal, but it works well enough, especially if you alternate your dog eared pages – top on one page, bottom on the next.

Getting it turned in time requires having a plan and practicing it. Decide where you’re going to turn your page and write it on your music so you remember to do it. If you’re sharing a folder, write the name of the person who is going to be turning the page. (Hint: practice it at tempo so you know if you’re turning it soon enough.) I almost always write in the right margin what the following measure(s) is/are in shorthand. Sometimes I have to turn early so I write the previous measures at the top of the page. Once in awhile I discover a measure on the next page that’s just like the one on the page turn and I use that, although I have to remember to go back to the top of the page! 

As a conductor, I’ll actually have my group isolate and practice page turns. We usually do the exercise where we play the last measure on the bottom of the page and then the first measure at the top of the next page without looking at the music, then two measures before and after, then three and so on until it gets to be a mess and we’re all laughing and improvising. I have one ringer who handles page turns by putting his right hand bell in 4 in hand position with his left hand. I had one ringer this year who kept getting lost at her page turns. She had her music well marked and I just couldn’t figure it out until I was ringing next to her. She waited until she was almost all the way through the last measure at the bottom of the page to turn and was then looking for the right spot after the page turn. It occurred to me that she was “staying found” by following the notes as they were being played instead of counting through the measures and audiating. After that discovery, she had no more problems with page turns and I noticed some other improvements. That watching notes go by thing had also kept her from reading ahead and caused her to be reactive rather than proactive. I wonder what else that affects? Topic for another time…

Barb
Sharon Guilliams
Planting Seeds

While it may be a little early, even for southern California, to talk about planting seeds, I am going to talk about planting seeds, but not the garden variety. While doing research for this article, I found out that I should be planting the seeds for my favorite garden flower, sweet peas.
In recent weeks I was able to go to a school and help a fourth-grade class with handbells. I had a blast, and the fourth graders were having fun, I could tell. This would not have been possible if I had not planted the seed four months earlier, when Carol Pickford and I had gone to help the teacher with some bells that needed adjustment. I simply said, “I would be happy to come and work with your students, just let me know.” I planted that seed. Christmas was crazy, but this simple invitation was remembered by the teacher. So, I invite you to think about how you can plant some handbell seeds. Invite someone to a handbell choir concert and plant a seed that they could learn to ring. Invite someone to observe a rehearsal and plant a seed. This netted my choir a new valuable ringer for the Christmas season, and he came back for the spring! Ask the kids in your neighborhood if they would like to learn how to ring and sing, and then share their music with the parents and older folk in the neighborhood. I am hoping this planted seed will allow there to be a youth presence in my choir’s spring concert. The seed you plant today may take a month or a year to germinate, but just plant the seed and maybe water it once in a while.

So, I am going to plant a couple of seeds.

  • I know things are uncertain with COVID, but it will get better. There are opportunities to ring together. Consider the LA Metro and So Cal Spring Rings. LA Metro’s is April 2, 2022, in Claremont with Matthew Compton and Erik Der as clinicians. Information can be found at LAMetro 2022 Spring Ring | Handbell Musicians of America Area 12. It will be a day of fun for everyone. (The information for the So Cal Spring Ring can be found at Southern California | Handbell Musicians of America Area 12.) Note that both Michele and I will be discussing the spring rings during our February Bell Table Talks (see the Vegas article).

  • I have been on the Board as the LA Metro Regional Coordinator for a little over 3 years now. I would like to plant the seed for those in the LA Metro area to consider what they may have to contribute to the Board. Don’t worry I’m not going anywhere. As Scott described, we are entering into an election cycle for Chair-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer. If you have a passion for bells and feel called to run for one of these offices, please do. The seed I would like to plant is not about the elected offices, but the many positions on the board that are not elected. Some of the positions take more time, and some take less. Some take specific skill sets or a willingness to learn those skill sets while some just take time. If you would like to have your voice heard or the voice of your choir heard, then consider being on the board. Your opinion matters and even if you are not on the board, you are welcome to our meetings and you are welcome to share your opinions on what Area 12 can be doing to promote handbells in your specific area. We don’t know it all. Sharing an email with me or another Board member is always welcome. If you have a question, email me and if you like, we can set up a phone call. This is your Area and we want to serve YOU, but if no one volunteers their time and talents, the Area won’t work for anybody.

Go and plant some seeds!

Sharon
Spring Ring is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America, dedicated to uniting people through the musical art of handbell and handchime ringing. www.handbellmusicians.org
For information on LA Metro's concerts, events,  
and other opportunities, click here.  
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Michèle Sharik
For information on Southern California concerts, events, and other opportunities, click here.  
It's time to sign-up for Spring Ring, SoCal!

As we head into 2022, do take a look at the Area 12 calendar. We are continuing to host the virtual "Bell Table Talks" with information about Area 12's upcoming "Red, White, and Bells" conference this July in Las Vegas. There are also great regional events planned, including Spring Rings in April (LA Metro in Claremont) and May (SoCal in Oceanside). 

2022 SoCal Spring Ring
May 14, 2022
St. Thomas More Catholic Church
Oceanside, CA 92056

Details and registration are available here.

Happy Lunar New Year! 

-Michèle 
SoCal Spring Ring is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America, dedicated to uniting people through the musical art of handbell and handchime ringing. www.handbellmusicians.org
January 15, 2021 Board Meeting
Meet the Board
Meet more Area 12 board members in upcoming Twelfth Tone issues or on the Area 12 Facebook page.
Kendra Symonds, Chair
How long have you been on the Area 12 Board and in what position(s)?
 I have been on the Area 12 board since 2015 and I have served as Bay Area RC, Chair Elect, and Chair.

What do you do for work that pays the bills?  Middle School music teacher, so I'm broke. Good thing I'm married to an actor turned computer scientist.

What is your handbell goal?  to see bells incorporated fully into percussion ensembles and orchestras and school programs.

Who or what got you hooked on handbells?  My family moved when I was 10 and our new church had a bell choir. My mom immediately joined it and I was super curious about this instrument I'd never heard of that she suddenly knew how to play. That's when I found out that I'm a fourth generation handbell ringer and my great grandmother helped found the guild. I guess it's in my blood.

If you could have a handbell superpower what would it be? To always know what bell is where.

What is your best MacGyver moment? Every time I fit 5 octaves of bells and chimes in my Honda Fit.

Everyone has a good app idea what is yours? Not an app, but the ideal classroom layout: Think Hollywood Squares, with a 4x4 grouping of 16 boxes. Every kid is in the front row, everyone has space to fidget/move around, class size is limited, kids can't be distracted by others, and they can light up a buzzer to answer questions, or send their work down to the teacher on a zip line. As I reflect on this idea now, it's basically a Zoom window, but live.

What is your most unusual talent? Being able to recite the alphabet backward, faster than I can forward.

Kendra has invited another man into her life: Oscar, her son. We congratulate her on the birth of her son near the beginning of 2021. She is in full mom mode now.  

Want to know more about Kendra? Check out the AREA 12 FACEBOOK PAGE!
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The Twelfth Tone is published on or around the first of each month, except July, by Area 12 of the Handbell Musicians of America (The Guild). The Guild is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the musical art of handbell/handchime ringing through education, community, and communication. The editor of this publication reserves the right to reject or modify copy.
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Teachers: Would you like the use of a three octave set of handbells or handchimes to add interest and a new dimension to your music class?

Area 12 encourages schools and other educational institutions, both public and private, to develop educational programs using handbells and handchimes.

To support the development of such programs, Area 12 has six 3-octave sets of handbells and three 3-octave sets of handchimes for loan.

To learn more about the responsibilities and procedures for participating in this program, click here.
Looking for a previous issue? We archive the Twelfth Tone on our website: http://area12.handbellmusicians.org/the-12th-tone/
Area 12 Board
Elected Officers

Chair
Chair Elect
Past Chair
Treasurer

Secretary
We have an open position for
Area 12 Historian. Love scrapbooking? Taking pictures? Learning from and sharing information with other ringers? This might just be the job for you! Contact Kendra if you want to know more about this position.
Appointed Officers

Communications
Education
Events
Historian
Membership

Social Media

Webmaster
Vendor Liaison
Regional Coordinators

Central California
Far Northern California Liaison
Hawaii
Los Angeles Metro
Northern California
Northern Nevada
San Francisco Bay Area
Southern California
Southern Nevada