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Alaska * Alberta * British Columbia * Idaho * Montana * Oregon * Saskatchewan * Washington

The Northwest Campanologist

Vol 16. No.4 July/August

Summer Ringing Opportunities

Bells of the Sound, Rainier Ringers, and Emerald City Ringers

are working together to offer five Summer Ringing Sessions in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area, spanning the entire summer season. Open to ringers of all ages and skill levels, Summer Ringing Sessions are a great opportunity to ring different positions, work on new techniques, sharpen sight reading skills, and meet other members of our local handbell community. No registration needed. Grab a friend and join us! Whether you come to one session, to all, or any number in between, we look forward to ringing with you this summer! For dates and locations, visit our websites.

Coming in August....

Our next Read & Ring is coming up on Saturday, August 16, 2025! Location and other details are still to be decided, and we'll send out emails just as soon as we can! If you've never attended one of these events, it's a FUN way to meet new ringers, play through new music, and optionally make purchases of music at a discount. Stay tuned for more information!

Area 10 Fall Ringing Round-Up

October 17-18, 2025

Registration is now open for Area 10’s new event – the Fall Ringing Round-Up. Early-bird rates apply through July 15^th.

Space is limited. It doesn’t get any cheaper than now. Why not register today?

What is the Fall Ringing Round-Up? The FRR is a massed ringing event targeted for the advanced beginner to intermediate ringer. Ringers will receive their music at the event. No learning your music ahead of time. Did I hear a “yeah!”? The FRR is being held in smaller venues (think church fellowship halls) at multiple locations around Area 10 that were selected to minimize travel time. We estimate 3 hours driving time max for most everyone.

When is the Fall Ringing Round-Up? The FRR is scheduled for Friday evening, October 17^th and all day Saturday, October 18^th, finishing up around 5:00 pm.

The Friday evening workshop covers “Marking Your Music for Ringing Success” and also focuses on selected techniques to build your handbell ringing skill set, all related to the music you will be ringing on Saturday. The group will be taking the selections from sight reading to finished product under the skilled tutelage of the event conductor/clinician. Saturday closes with a recital, sharing the fruits of our labors.

Beginner/Advanced Beginner to Intermediate ringers are encouraged to participate so you can build your ringing skill set on the way to becoming better Handbell Musicians and start building connections in the handbell community. Participate as an individual or as part of a choir. An optional catered-in lunch is available.

Visit our Fall Ringing Round-Up webpage for more details

EVENT SITES

Bend-OR; serving both sides of the Cascades north to south and even SW Washington .........Conductor: Ellie Hodder

Olympia-WA; serving the westside of the Cascades reaching north to Bellingham and south to Portland OR ......................Conductor: Kendra Symonds

Spokane-WA; serving the eastside of the Cascades and reaching east into Northwest Idaho ..Conductor: Phyllis Tincher

Great Falls-MT; serving the West-central area of the state of Montana Conductor: Diane Hould......................

Registration fee is:

Early Bird June 1-July 15: $40 (HMA member*) $45 (HMA non-member)

Standard July 16-Aug 31: $45 (HMA member) $50 (HMA non-member)

**Late Registration Sept 1-Oct 15: $55 (HMA member) $60 (HMA non-member)

(*) HMA personal membership or member of a choir with an HMA membership.

Provided (optional) Lunch: $15

Registration is open and will close August 31, 2025.

** Late registration will only occur if space is available.

The registration will be on-line ONLY with payment by electronic transfer.

Space is limited, so register early. Here is the link to the registration form.

For full details and to register, visit the Area 10 website. Questions? Email the Area 10 Events Coordinator: Diane Barnes.

Other Notes of Interest

Bell Tree

Composition Contest

Area 10 is pleased to share that 11 compositions were received. After the preliminary round of evaluations, the field has been narrowed to three. The winner will be announced on September 1. The winning piece will be published by Jeffers and will debut at Coppers Classic 2026. It will also be included in the 2027 Area 10 Conference repertoire.

AREA 10

HANDCHIME AND HANDBELL LOAN PROGRAM

Each year, Area 10 loans handchimes and handbells to schools, churches, and community musical groups to expand their music programs to include handchimes or handbells, or to create a music program with handchimes or handbells. Area 10 has a 3-octave set of handchimes for each state in Area 10: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Area 10 also has a 3-octave set of handbells for programs in Oregon.

Handchimes are a wonderful first instrument because the student is rewarded with a proper musical sound each and every time it is rung. It may be the wrong note to ring – but it sounds good. No squeaks or squawks. Holding the instrument is easy with no complicated fingering. Chimes are sturdy and are immune to peanut butter and jelly or other kid-introduced substances. They are small and light and easy to transport between multiple venues and lighter to ring for our senior citizens or anyone with a disability.

While handbells take a bit more care than handchimes, they still offer much the same level of rapid success. They may be the perfect choice for slightly older students or adults, offering all the same benefits of proper musical sound, while also offering an expanded array of techniques to be explored.

The specifics of the loan program and the on-line application are available on the Area 10 Website. Organizations interested in applying for a loan of handchimes or handbells should complete the on-line application which will be sent to the appropriate Area 10 State Chair. For more information, please feel free to email your Area 10 state chair, listed at the bottom of this newsletter. Loan applications are now being accepted for the 2025-2026 school year.

The deadline to apply is June 30, 2025.

HB & HC Loan Program

Rapelje School District is a K-12 school in southcentral Montana with an enrollment of about 60 students. We were fortunate to be selected for the Handchime Loan Program for the '24-'25 school year. The chimes were a little late in arriving, but once they showed up, the third and fourth grade class got to be the first to try them out. The class practiced and prepared "Silent Night" for the Christmas concert, accompanied by an eight grade flutist from the junior high band. Once we moved into the spring semester, I had three different groups work with the chimes. The junior high band students (7 in total), prepared "America", the fifth and sixth grade band students (also 7 total) practiced chords on the chimes for "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and accompanied the third and fourth graders on their recorders. The third and fourth graders (10 students) prepared "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", which proved to be a challenge for them. All of these songs were performed at the spring concert this past April.

Having the chimes this year was a refreshing boost to the music program. They were a nice change of pace from recorders, ukuleles, and even the traditional band instruments. After the spring concert, one parent came up to me and remarked, "I could listen to those chimes all evening!" The students appreciated how pleasant they sounded, even if someone chimed in at the wrong time. Using the chimes was a good exercise in having students count and anticipate when to chime their part. The Rapelje School is wholeheartedly grateful for the opportunity to have been able to use these chimes this past year and we are so appreciative of the Area 10 Handbell Musicians of America for providing this opportunity!

Sarah Stevens

K-12 Librarian/K-8 Music

Rapelje Schools

Rapelje, MT

Kaleidoscope Belles

Earlier this year I wrote about a starting a partnership with another handbell ringer and giving a noon time concert that also raised some money for a local campus food bank. I am writing to followup and encourage other small ensembles and choirs to share your news.

It was to my surprise that about a month before the concert, I received an email asking if the concert was still happening. She explained that she and her husband would be passing through my area and wanted to include this concert in their itinerary. I assured that it was and would look forward to meeting them.

The concert was well attended and well received. And I had the pleasure of meeting the husband and wife who were traveling through my area. They did let me know that they really enjoyed the program and wanted to know when we would be doing another concert.

All this is to say that even when we might think it not important or worth the effort advertising beyond your usual venues, getting the word out, even through this newsletter, can bring opportunities for meeting other ringers not within your usual circle. So share your concerts and/or even what you enjoyed learning after attending any of the upcoming Read & Ring programs.

Bell Buggy Express INVENTORY

There is still a large amount of music inventory from the former Bell Buggy Express Store. Dean Kravig is willing to offer a discount of 50% off each selection.

I would also say that there is a lot of older music 'covers' that would be great for crafting projects.

It would be a shame to have to send a large amount of still usable/viable music to the recycling center. Consider a trip to Walla Walla, do some wine tasting and come check out some music that could help build your music library.

Call/text 509-540-9743 and let me (Debra Pankaskie) know you would like to check out some music to ring or craft with.

Keep up with what's going on...

Area 10 website: https://area10.handbellmusicians.org/

Area 10 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HandbellMusiciansOfAmericaArea10

Area 10 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hmaarea10/

Invite people to your events

If you are hosting an event, there are several places you may wish to consider advertising.

Send your announcement to communications.area10@handbellmusicans.org to share your event information with the Area 10 newsletter, Area 10 website, and Area 10 social media accounts. Newsletter deadlines are the 20th of the month prior to publication.

Have you heard about Brian Seemann and Nick Hanson's podcast, Two Tacos High? They are offering everyone space on their website to advertise events. There is a form for you to complete here: https://www.twotacoshigh.com/events