Happy summer! Now is the time that many of you are probably gearing up for starting bell choir rehearsals this fall. We know that the pandemic has hit a lot of groups hard, but we’re optimistic that more and more groups will be getting together again this fall. We’re excited that we’re working on another Festival/Conference next summer. More on that in another part of this Fundamental Tone.

We are happy to announce that we have two candidates for Chair-Elect, who will be running in a Special Election in September. Stephanie LaShoto-Westfield and Jennifer Stack, both from Massachusetts, will be on the ballot. Ballots will be MAILED (not-emailed) to you in mid-August, and they will need to be returned by September 16, 2022. Voting is NOT ELECTRONIC this time, because the provision about voting procedures for Special Elections was not changed in our By-Laws, as it was for regular elections. If you are a member of HMA in good standing, please look out for your ballot. You can read about Stephanie and Jennifer on our website here.

Again, thank you all for your continued interest and support as we go through this leadership transition. We will announce the winner of the election in an email shortly after the first of October. At that time, Jean will step down as Interim Co-Chair, Lisa Arnold will return as Chair, and I will return as Past-Chair to fill out the rest of the regular term, which ends in June of 2023.

Your Area 1 Board will be busy this fall seeking feedback about what kinds of events you would like Area 1 to offer. Our State Chairs will be reaching out to many members, one of which could be you! Please think about what might motivate you (or not motivate you) to go to an Area 1 event, and help us brainstorm about what we can do in the future.

Please read the other reports in this Fundamental Tone. We have some interesting happenings this fall, such as:

Steve Mazeau has been working hard at building up the Snag-a-Sub program all over Area 1. If you want to make yourself available to fill in a position at a rehearsal, sign up to get on the email list. If you know of a rehearsal you’ll be missing, or you’re a choir director who needs a rehearsal sub, you should also sign up for the email list. That way, you can post your opening, and someone else may be able to fill it! This is a great resource for everyone to fill a need. All the information about getting on the email list is found here. Thank you, Steve, for monitoring it!

It is our pleasure to serve you. If you have any questions or comments, please email us at chair.area1@handbellmusicians.org.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Happy ringing,

Carlene Ruesenberg

Jean Degan

Interim Co-Chairs

By Carlene Ruesenberg

What a terrific Festival/Conference! It was a long time coming, but it happened! In all, we had 247 people on the ringing floor at Chase Arena, with 19 in the Tins division, 138 in the Coppers Division, and 85 in the Bronze Division. Over 35 Area 1 choirs were represented, but many had less than a full choir. Several welcomed “orphans'' in their ranks, which honestly created a heightened level of camaraderie throughout the conference, as people played together for the first time. So many people came up to me throughout the weekend, thanking us for deciding to move forward with putting on the event, in spite of the fact that we weren’t sure we would succeed financially. It was gratifying to me personally, to see how many people said they needed this conference to get back to bells and to make music with a group again after so long without it. To me, that is a great example of moving forward with our mission to advance the musical art of handbell/handchime ringing through education, community and communication.

In addition to the photos found in Carlene's report, there are many more!

Click on the link below to view our 2022 Festival Conference Photo Album.

And, if you have photos you wish to share, please contact Pete Larson at webmaster.area1@handbellmusicians.org

By Lisa Arnold, Chair, Festival Conference 2023

Yes, that’s right! We had such a great time in Hartford this past June that we want to do it all again next year. Our Clinicians will be Emily Li (Massed and Tins Choirs) and Matthew Compton (Bronze and Coppers Choirs). For their bios, our complete repertoire list, and more details about our 3-day format, click on our Festival Conference webpage below. The 2023 venue is still being finalized at this time. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

Concert A/V Production Manager: Do you have experience with live-streaming? Recording? Obtaining digital copyright permissions? We could really use qualified volunteers to help us. Estimated needs/commitment is:

Drivers: We’re looking for people who love to play “Handbell Tetris”! We need drivers to pick up loaner equipment from organizations across New England, then tag, label, and document it. Finally, you get to load it onto a 16’ truck and deliver it to the conference (location TBD). NOTE: Truck rental, gas, tolls and dorm room on Thursday & Sunday evenings are covered. Estimated time commitment:

Equipment Roadies: We need help getting the equipment from the staging area to the classrooms on Friday morning and back again on Sunday. If you are willing to help move and set up equipment in the classrooms, please let me know! Time commitment starts at 8am on Friday.

Faculty: Do you have a good idea for a class? Are you willing to teach something? If so, contact Stephanie LaShoto-Westfield at s.lashoto@gmail.com

If you want to help out, and the job is not listed here, please let us know! All of our committee members can use extra hands, even if just for a few hours during the festival. More opportunities will be posted as we get closer to the event. Contact Lisa Arnold at pastchair.area1@handbellmusicians.org

Notes from CONNECTICUT

Greetings -

There is such energy in the handbell community right now. Just look at the pictures below from Festival Conference. It was terrific to be ringing again with so many others. I heard plenty of positive feedback that all had a good time. Can’t wait to do it again next year – hopefully, seeing many of you there.

Thank you to all who sent items to share for this article. Check out the news below on groups meeting or performing this summer. Keep the things coming; feel free to send them at any time.

Currently, Area 1 board members are hard at work planning upcoming events. Reach out if you are

interested in helping at a local or area-wide event.

Take care, and Happy Ringing!

Suzanne Neafus

-----

1. Janice Kimball and Sue Stottlemyer started a 6-week youth focused summer program at the Groton

Congregational Church. They are meeting for an hour each Thursday night. One week, there were 5

or 6 kids ringing hand chimes together.

2. A quintet from Shoreline Ringers performed at New London's Christmas in July celebration on July 23.

3. The Connecticut Handbell Musicians are a group of enthusiastic handbell ringers who are orphaned by our own choirs over the summer so for kicks we get together and keep on ringing. We come from all over the state and take this opportunity each summer to stretch and grow into places and pieces that we may not be able to go during the year with our home groups. We have a few concerts for the public that we'd like to share with you.

a. Thursday August 18th we'll be participating in ArtsWalk in Woodbury CT. This is an outdoor

concert where guests are invited to walk up and down main street stopping by exhibits by

artists from all over the region. More details may be found here.

b. In early September, there will be a concert at St. Andrew Evangelical Lutheran Church at 1125 Stafford Ave in Bristol, CT. This is a BYOBlanket concert on the front lawn. Details will be posted at our parent organization ChimeIn! Music with a Mission's website.

c. Finally, after having taken a couple of years off, we will be returning to the Big E this summer for our 6th appearance to get the bells out into the unlikely setting of the New England Center for Connecticut Day. We love hooking people's attention as they wander through the exhibits and reeling them in to watching something that many have never seen or heard of before. This concert will be Wednesday September 21st at 1:30 pm.

We hope to see some of you out there in the world supporting this team sport that we all love so dearly. Samantha Beschta

Notes from MAINE

me.area1@handbellmusicians.org or 860-202-7737

Hello Maine Ringers!

I hope you are all doing well and finding ways to enjoy a variety of music this summer. I had the true joy of attending my first Area 1 Festival Conference at the University of Hartford in June. We had almost 300 ringers playing en masse, with Tins, Coppers and Bronze ringers all well represented. Attendees came from as far west as California, youth groups who arrived by bus from Virginia, and a terrific young man from Essex, England, who played solo “belleplates” or flat handbells. Days were chock full of massed rehearsals, dozens of workshops, and lots of socializing and networking at mealtimes (and the food was really good). We were even treated to a random Friday night fireworks display! Each evening featured terrific mini-concerts with performances by groups and solo ringers. The highlight was the insanely phenomenal performance of “Anything Goes,” arranged and directed by Nick Hanson and played by the Festival Bronze Choir. It was high energy, high-level technique and high entertainment value! If you’d like to see a video of this fun piece, let me know and I’ll send you a link.

I am not a choir director, but these are a few arrangements that were played at FC that might be of

interest to directors.

 Celebration on “Azmon,” arr. Brian Childers, Level 2+

 Dona Nobis Pacem, arr. Kevin McChesney, Level 3 (with optional cello accompaniment)

 A Festive Toll, arr. Chris Burton, Level 2+

 This Joyful Eastertide, arr. Ron Mallory, Level 3- (with optional trumpet accompaniment)

The Area 1 Board has decided that Festival Conference will be held in June 2023 (to return to the

standard of hosting a conference on odd-numbered years). What that means for us in Maine is that we

will likely have our next Spring Ring in March 2024. In the meantime, we are discussing the possibility of

arranging regional group rings and/or workshops. More information on that to come.

By the way, did you know that there is an Area 1 Facebook page? There is information about group

ringing opportunities and workshops throughout New England and full photo coverage of June’s Festival

Coverage. Look for “Handbell Musicians of America: Area 1” and follow the group to stay up-to-date

with what’s happening in our region!

All the best,

Dana

Notes from MASSACHUSETTS

Hi, bell friends!

What a joy it was to see so many of you at Festival Conference 2022! Now, looking ahead to the fall, it’s that time of year when we think about skill-building workshops. We anticipate two HMA-endorsed workshops happening in Massachusetts this fall, as follows.

Consider joining us for both learning and fellowship at one of these events and invite your

friends!

Abby Schoppe, MA State Chair

New Hampshire: Kim Whitehead, nh.area1@handbellmusicians.org

Rhode Island: currently open*

Vermont: Pat Pranger, vt.area1@handbellmusicians.org

*Contact Interim Co-Chairs, Carlene Ruesenberg and Jean Degan, chair.area1@handbellmusicians.org, if you are interested in serving.

Fundamental Tone is a publication of Area 1 Handbell Musicians of America,

published six times a year: February, April, June, August October, December.

Editorial copy and advertisements are due by the 18th of the month preceding publication.

Call for Articles:

Do you have a story to share with fellow handbell musicians? Submit news briefs to your State Chair or email your article to Amy Rollins at communications.area1@handbellmusicians.org.

To Advertise in Fundamental Tone:

Discounts: deduct 5% for prepayment of two issues;

Submit your ad as a hi-res JPG file to communications.area1@handbellmusicians.org

Our next publication is scheduled for October 1, 2022

Articles and Ads must be submitted no later than September 18, 2022

Thank you!