The Newsletter of Area 1 Handbell Musicians of America | Vol. XXXIX No. 6 | December 2025 | | |
IN THIS EDITION:
- Greetings from the Board Chair
- Notice of next Area 1 Board Meeting
- Winter Workshop 2026
- Notes from State and Regional Chairs
- Please be sure to scroll down/click "view entire message" to see - and support - our advertisers
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Greetings, Area 1
The holiday cheer is upon us, and that means ringing season! As we have a lot going on, here is a short Handbell Ringers Blessing for you:
May your clappers strike true, your handles stay strong, your bell/chime changes non-clanky, and your page turns smooth.
May your congregations be attentive, appreciative, and filled with joy at your playing.
May your audiences be full, your handbell Q&A questions interesting, and your young audience members attentive and engaged.
May ALL your ringers be healthy, safe from ice patches, and on time for rehearsals and performances.
May your subs be early, communicative and prepared, and (hopefully) not needed because all your ringers are healthy!
May your directors be calm under pressure, give tempos the same as rehearsal, and be able to be present in the moment to make music together.
May we all bring joy to the world this holiday season with our playing and sharing our musical art with everyone!
In closing, I want to share that we will have some shifts in board roles happening in January - stay tuned for some new state chairs! All are welcome at our board meeting on January 17, 2026, held via Zoom, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Please email me for more information.
Happiest of Holidays to all from Area 1!
Greg Urban
Area 1 Chair
chair.area1@handbellmusicians.org
| | Area 1 is grateful to Handbell Services for allowing us to use their handbell silhouette artwork featured in our 'Report from the Chair' header. | | |
Notice of Next Area 1 Board Meeting
Area 1 Board Meetings are open to all members of the Guild and held three times a year, usually in January, May and September. Our next regular Board Meeting is January 17, 2026 and will be held virtually. Considering a board position? Just want to hear about all the cool stuff happening here?
If you are interested in attending, please email Greg Urban, Area 1 Chair.
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Winter Workshop 2026
Ringing in the New Year at UMass Amherst - January 30-31
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Area 1's much-loved Winter Workshop returns to UMass Amherst on January 30–31, 2026. We're excited to welcome handbell ringers from across the region for a weekend of music-making, learning, and fellowship. For those already registered—thank you, and we can't wait to see you there!
At this writing, we have filled all slots, but we are keeping a wait list. If you are interested, please visit the Area 1 Winter Workshop webpage for details. We would love to have you join us.
If you'd like to show your support, please get in touch with Suzanne Neafus at suzanne.neafus@gmail.com by December 15 to place an ad in the event program book.
Finally, if you'll be in the area, don't miss the final concert at 3:00 PM on Saturday. It's a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the music and celebrate all the hard work participants have put in throughout the weekend.
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Happy Holidays!
I look forward to seeing many of you at Winter Workshop at the end of January. Please be sure to introduce yourself and let me know what types of workshops and other resources I can connect you with in the new year.
Wishing you all a healthy, happy holiday season!
Vicki Moroski
Connecticut State Chair
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Notes from MAINE
Dana Humphreys, Maine State Chair
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Hello Maine Ringers,
I’m sure everyone is very busy working on Advent, Christmas and other holiday music. And we all have at least a few pesky measures to figure out, while muttering under our breath, “What the heck was that arranger THINKING??”
I’m happy to announce that the location for Maine Spring Ring will be at the Greely Middle School Gym in Cumberland. Some long-time ringers will remember that MSR was held there about ten years ago. New updates are being added to the Maine Spring Ring event page on the Area 1 website.
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The Maine Spring Ring repertoire is already set, and hopefully you all have the music for the tracks you are ringing. Choirs should be very familiar with the music before the event; we will have relatively short rehearsals with clinicians Kevin McChesney and Sam Beschta before our public concert at the end of the day. (We know at least seven Maine Tins choirs who are very familiar with their two pieces after the fun Totally Tins North workshop held in October.)
I also want to give a plug to a terrific handbell podcast called “Two Tacos High,” hosted by Nick Hanson and Brian Seemann (www.twotacoshigh.com). They drop an episode about every three weeks or so, and the November episode is called “Handbell Hodge-Podge.” Among the trivia, Nick and Brian explain the origins for such handbell terms as shelley ringing (yes, it was named after a resourceful ringer named Shelley), martellato and gyro.
Have fun playing your holiday music, and remember that our audiences love handbell performances even with the little oopsies we toss in there! Happy holidays everyone!
Dana Humphreys
Maine State Chair
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Thank you, MA and NH handbell musicians!
I anticipate that this will be my last Fundamental Tone article, as I am in the process of stepping away from the Area 1 board. It has been a joy to work closely with so many of you over the past 6+ years! Please know that you can always reach me at Abigail.schoppe@gmail.com.
But also, I am not stepping away from chairing the committee for MA Spring Ring! Below are all the details for the 2026 MA Spring Ring:
WHEN: Saturday, April 11, 2026, 10 AM-5 PM
WHERE: Tewksbury Memorial High School
COST: $15 per ringer
CLINICIAN: Kimberlee Strepka
REPERTOIRE
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MASSED: Courage and Grace, by Michael W. Joy, Level 3-, 3-6 octaves handbells, Hope Publishing HP3030
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MASSED: The Lord Now Sends Us Forth, arr. Cathy Moklebust, Level 2+, 2-5 octaves of handbells with optional 2-5 octaves of handchimes, percussion, and guitar
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TINS: What Wondrous Love Is This, arr. Susan E. Geschke, Level 1+, 2-5 octaves handbells, Choristers Guild CGB621 (2-3 octaves)/CGB622 (3-5 octaves)
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COPPERS: Serenity, by Kurt Meyer, Level 3, 3-6 octaves handbells with optional 3 octaves handchimes, Beckenhorst Press BEHB827
I sure hope to see most of you in Tewksbury in April! And if you know anyone who would be interested in joining the Area 1 board, please don’t hesitate to contact either me (at ma.area1@handbellmusicians.org) or Greg Urban (at chair.area1@handbellmusicians.org).
Abby Schoppe
Chair, Greater Boston MA/NH Region
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Thank you, Cape Cod!
As I am in the process of stepping away from the Area 1 board, this will likely be my last Fundamental Tone article. It’s been a joy to work with so many of you on the Cape over the past few years. Please keep ringing!
However, I do plan to stay on as organizer of the 2026 Cape Cod Spring Ring (though I will likely not be involved in this event in future years). Will I get to see you in Harwich in March? Here are all the details:
WHEN: Saturday, March 21, 9 AM-3:30 PM
WHERE: Harwich Community Center
COST: $15 per ringer
CLINICIAN: Samantha Beschta
REPERTOIRE:
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Laudation, by Brenda Austin, 2-5 octaves handbells, Level 2, Composers Music Company, CP7096 (2-3 octave version) and CP7097 (3-5 octave version)
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Meditation on Beautiful Savior, by Cathy Moklebust, 2-5 octaves handbells, Level 3, Choristers Guild, CGB175 (3-5 octave version) and CGB763 (2-octave version)
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Free Fall, by Jason Krug, 2-6 octaves handbells with optional percussion, Level 2+, From the Top Publishing, FM206253 (2-3 octave version), FM206255 (3-5 octave version), FM20625M (director's score), and FM20625P (percussion score)
If you know anyone who would be interested in joining the Area 1 board, please don’t hesitate to contact either me (at ma.area1@handbellmusicians.org) or Greg Urban (at chair.area1@handbellmusicians.org). Thank you all again for being awesome!
Abby Schoppe
Chair, Cape Cod & Islands Region
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Hello from Western Mass!
What a busy time of year as the holiday season rushes in. In the last two months, we kicked off our Travelling Clinic at two different locations. First, in early October, we went to Easthampton Congregational Church for an hour of handbell techniques and notation. From echoes and tower swings to mallets and marts, it was a great night of exploration for this new group of ringers. Many of the techniques they had not encountered yet. Emphasis was on recognizing the notation and executing the techniques correctly, musically, and safely – for both the ringer and the bells. Then in November, we took the clinic to Wilbraham United Church. There, for an hour, we taught the foundations and beyond for malleting and four-in-hand. A few ringers in the group had basic experience on both techniques, but with instruction and guidance from Lisa Arnold, they were able to finetune those skills, squash a few emerging bad habits, and grow as ringers. This one-on-one, hands-on class gave the ringers an opportunity to ask all those nagging questions and a chance to dig deeper into little nuances to make them better ringers.
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Our last social ring of the year was held on October 25th at Easthampton Congregational Church. We kicked off the holiday season, ringing Advent and Christmas music. This sightreading event was well attended by more than 30 ringers from near and far for an afternoon of comradery and fun. Under the direction of Scott Halligan, Bobbie Morkin, Kim Strepka and Susan Capestro we rang more than a dozen pieces. This social repertoire read was a wonderful afternoon of ringers helping ringers and directors helping directors as we had 4 octaves of double positions (just like the mentor/mentee buddy system we had at Festival Conference back in June). The less experienced ringers really appreciated the doubling as sightreading is not everyone’s forte. We also had Karen Quist with tables of her handbell items for sale. Many ringers stocked up on gloves, highlighter tape and more to get ready for the busy ringing season. Keep watch for more social rings in the coming year!
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Keep ringing to spread peace and joy this season. Don’t forget to read below in this Fundamental Tones for all your holiday handbell concert times and locations.
Audrey Pierce
Western Mass Chair
westernma.area1@handbellmusicians.org
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Happy Holidays!
I hope this message finds you in good health, happily ringing, or listening to all the wonderful music happening in rehearsals and performances. As we enter into our busy season of sharing music, I hope you can make it to the many area performances and events! I am very much looking forward to the Winter Workshop on January 30th and 31st held at UMASS. With three ringing tracks this year, it is shaping up to be a wonderful weekend!
Local choirs are busy touring and sharing their music: Back Bay Ringers, New England Ringers, Merrimack Valley Ringers, and Shoreline Ringers, as well as many, many church-based handbell choirs! Do you have a local choir or director that should be acknowledged and celebrated? Send me an email!
A new Rhode Island Community Handbell Choir has been established! We are known as the Lil’ Rhody Ringers. We rehearse every other week at Slatersville Congregational Church in North Smithfield, RI. We will be performing on December 17th at Milford High School, Milford, MA and on December 21st at a private holiday party in Jamestown, RI.
A new Traveling Clinic Program is being piloted in Western MA. Clinicians will travel to your handbell choir and work with you in your space, using your bells on YOUR schedule! You can create a highly specialized workshop catered to what your group needs. Area 1 is open to trying this out in RI too. Let me know if you are interested in having a Traveling Workshop visit your choir!
Happy ringing!
Jill Boday
Rhode Island State Chair
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