In last month's article, I discussed the importance of networking and setting up smaller events as a means to improve our skills.  I received a suggestion in email to provide a contact list so you could know who else is in your area and who to contact.  For this, I would recommend the membership list on the Handbell Musicians of America web site.  This is one of many fairly recent additions and services the National office is providing its members, and if you've not checked out their web site recently, I would encourage you to do so.  To view the membership directory, go to http://handbellmusicians.org and sign in.  From the "What would you like to do?" drop-down, choose "Member Directory".  From there, you can complete a search by the person's name, by city, by state, or any number of other search criteria.

     A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend Distinctly Bronze West 2013.  This was the fifth year National has organized this event in Bremerton, and it without a doubt was one of the best events I've ever attended.  Fred Gramann was the clinician this year, and although I've seen him at a number of events over the years, this was the first time I took the opportunity to participate in an event which he led.  Perhaps the first observation I made was that right from the first rehearsal, Fred placed his music stand behind him and started leading the rehearsal with all of the music memorized.  Throughout the event, he only occasionally referenced his music when he needed to call out a measure number.  I was thoroughly impressed with this level of preparation, and wonder how much better I could be if I walked into every rehearsal with my music already memorized, or how much better my choirs would be if everyone in the group were to make such a commitment.  This was just one of many ways I was inspired by Fred's leadership.  There were more than 30 folks from Area 10 in attendance, and I expect all of them have stories to share.  If you know someone who attended the event, I encourage you to ask them to share what they learned from the experience.

     It is worth mentioning that this event would not be possible without the support from many local groups.  For Distinctly Bronze East, the handbell manufacturers loan and transport equipment to the event.  For Bremerton, the cost of transporting borrowed equipment from Pennsylvania would be prohibitive, so we rely on local groups to loan their equipment, and we are about the only place west of the Mississippi which has enough large bell sets available for the event to be possible.  I want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank a few of the individuals and groups who have played a key role in making Distinctly Bronze West a success over the years.

     Every year, we've borrowed 7-octave sets from Bells of the Sound and from "It's Your Turn", a set co-owned by myself and Malia Johnson.  Over the years we have borrowed a 6-octave set from Marlene Anderson at Grace Lutheran Church, and have worked with Nancy Patton, Nancy Hascall, and Glen Hascall to borrow and transport equipment owned by Bells of the Cascades.  This year, we borrowed four 5-octave sets of bells from area churches.  These include: Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Bellevue (Colin Walker, director), Our Savior Lutheran Church in Issaquah (Alice Lewis, director), Saint Peter's United Methodist Church in Bellevue (Scott Barker, director), and Tibbetts United Methodist Church in Seattle (Shirley Lindberg, director).  Every year, a representative from the Emerald City Ringers has worked with these and other organizations to coordinate the loan and transport of the equipment to and from the event.  This event is truly an example of a number of folks in Area 10 working together to help with something that is a benefit to handbell musicians around the country and around the world.

 Brian Tervo

     Register now! The 2013 Greater Puget Sound Handbell Conference will be held Saturday, May 18, 2013 at Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington. This event is open to all ringers - not just those in Washington! Our clinician for the massed ringing will be Kath Wissinger, and for the first time we will be having a bronze conference choir. (The bronze conference choir requires a separate application from the regular conference registration, and selected members will be assigned a position and prepare the repertoire prior to the conference on their own.)

Welcome Letter

Registration Form

Schedule

Rainier Choir

Hotels

Clinicians

2013 Greater Puget Sound Repertoire 

All the forms are also on our Area 10 website.

For additional information, please contact Jennifer Vangolen, Washington State Chair, at [email protected]