In the simplest form, two groups can meet, rehearse together, and share their music with each other.  This gives each group an opportunity to work with a different director and for each person a chance to see how someone else is playing their part.  I've seen a number of situations where a new director will successfully teach my group a concept I've been trying to teach them for years.  As a group, we all learn by observing how another director interprets a piece of music we've been working on.  As an individual, someone might learn about a better way to play their part by watching the person play it in the other group.  These are a few examples of how just two handbell groups can mutually benefit each other.

     Taken to the next level, the event could include as many as five or six groups.  These events take a bit more coordination and planning because of the number of people involved, but they are always a rewarding experience for the musicians involved.  In some cases, events which have started out on a small scale of just five or six choirs have grown and have eventually become some of the larger events taking place in Area 10.

      In Area 10, we have a very large geographic area, and have always relied on local efforts to bring people together.  The Greater Puget Sound Handbell Conference, the Siskiyou Summit (or The Rogue Valley Handbell Festival), and the Big Sky Conference have taken place annually or bi-annually for decades.  More recently, the Desert Rings, the Boise Bell Bash, and the Pacific Northwest Youth Handbell Festival are smaller events that have started taking place on a regular basis.  For the past several years, there has been a director's forum in Portland, providing directors in our area an opportunity to share ideas.  I'm very pleased to hear about the number of events taking place in Alaska over the past couple of years, and hope that these grow and become regularly scheduled events.

     I encourage you to review our event calendar frequently, and to participate in some of these events.  Please note that many of these events can accommodate a smaller group or an individual.  It is not necessarily required to attend these events with a full choir.

     If you are unable to participate in any of these scheduled events, I encourage you to organize your own event, even if it's just meeting up with one or two other groups in your region.  If you gather enough interest and wish to plan a larger event, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your Area 10 Board.  Each of us has been involved with planning several events, and would be happy to share our experiences and provide you with some Guild resources which can help make your event a success.

     Part of the vision statement of the Handbell Musicians of America is "uniting people through our musical art".  Every time I hear this, I always interpret it to mean that handbells brings people together.  While that is certainly true, I also believe that bringing people together to share ideas is an important component for us to advance our musical art. I hope to see you at a handbell event in the near future.

 by Wendy McPhetres,

Area 10 Education Coordinator

     This year, the National Association for Music Education's theme is "Music Education: Orchestrating Success!" I write this article with 2 hats on: as a public school music educator and as the Area 10 Education Coordinator. With both hats on, I encourage YOU to celebrate music education in your school, church, and community. As musicians, we all know the very long list of advantages children have when they include music as part of their education. In this day and age, with budget cuts and challenges to get every student proficient in reading and math, it is common to see a child's MUSIC education missing. Music teachers everywhere are faced with all kinds of challenges.

     Area 10 has an amazing opportunity to help music educators of all grade levels! Our Handchime Loan Grant offers sets of 3 octaves of handchimes AND curriculum to schools in each of our region's states. I, myself have had the unique opportunity to be a recipient of the chimes, not once, but twice!   The first time, I was teaching elementary general music (Grades K-6) in Medford, OR. Cyndy Patterson was the Oregon Chair at that time, and I was ringing handbells with her in Medford. When Area 10 first received the chimes and started the loan program, she offered me to be a "guinea pig" to use the chimes at my school for the last couple months of that school year. Using the handchimes in my music classroom was instant success with my 5th and 6th grade students. They even performed, with their handchimes, at the school's annual talent show!

     I now am the choral director at the middle school in Bremerton, WA. Several years ago, our school was on a unique schedule where we had an "enrichment" period in the middle of the day. Students who met standards in reading and math were able to take "extra, fun" classes, including my handchime class. The first year, I applied for the Washington handchimes, and received them for a year. After that, I was able to purchase the necessary handchime sets I needed for my classroom use. It was so cool to introduce the art of handchime playing to my 6th grade students. For 4 years, each semester long class performed at one of the choir concerts during the year. Since then, our school had to "restructure" and our daily schedule had to be changed, eliminating the enrichment period and consequently, the handchime class.

     Living near Seattle, I am a ringing member of Bells of the Sound. I take opportunities in my school choir classes to share YouTube videos of our concerts. After the holiday vacation, one of my students told me that they saw me playing handbells on TV (on King County's Public Broadcasting). He proudly told all those around him, "There's Ms. McPhetres and her bell band!"

     Being both a public music teacher and a handbell ringer, I feel that it  is important to expose the younger generation to our unique art! I strongly encourage you to let any school music teacher know about our Handchime Loan Grant and the benefits this teaching tool would have to their music classroom.

2013 Handchime Grant Application

 Registration is now open for National Seminar this summer, July 24-27, in Portland. Concerts, classes, vendors, and so much more! Follow the link to Seminar.HandbellMusicians.org.

  Distinctly Teen in Portland, Oregon!!!

      Distinctly Teen is designed for the individual young ringer (8th-12th grade) who wishes to stretch their ringing skills and challenge their musicianship. Participants will spend 2 � days working on intermediate to advanced repertoire and developing skills in handbell technique and general musicianship under the leadership of Ron Mallory, our Area 10 Youth Coordinator!

     The event schedule will combine dedicated rehearsal time for Distinctly Teen with the opportunity to attend classes offered as part of the Handbell Musicians of America National Seminar. Each attendee will receive a position assignment in the youth all-star choir that will perform with the National Seminar All-Star choirs for a concert at National Seminar.

    With over 20 years of experience leading both traditional and contemporary worship, Ron Mallory is choir, handbell, and praise band director at Living Word Lutheran Church in Puyallup, Washington. He also teaches high school and middle school handbell classes at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, and directs the Rainier Ringers community handbell ensemble.

April 20, 2013 * Bellevue, WA

     Emerald City Ringers, a community handbell ensemble based in the Seattle area, invites youth handbell choirs from around the Pacific Northwest to the 2013 Youth Handbell Festival. This year will feature three guest clinicians: Marlene Anderson, Ellie Hodder, and Emerald City Ringers Music Director and Area 10 Chair Brian Tervo. Please email [email protected] for a registration form.

     We are currently working with the Bellevue Red Lion Hotel for a discounted room block - rooms are anticipated to be $96/night, including free wi-fi and parking. Email for more details.

Fees (includes lunch and dinner): $55 per ringer postmarked by March 1 * $60 after March 1

Adult chaperones: $9 lunch, $12 dinner

Music List

Brochure/Registration Form

Email [email protected] or call 425-269-8182for more information.

     Isle Bells of Kodiak Island, Alaska, is hosting Mr. David Harris of The Raleigh Ringers the weekend of May 4-5, 2013, for a handbell seminar. Handbell musicians and conductors state and regionwide are invited to this special weekend of music and skills-building. Mr. Harris brings years of experience as Artistic Director of the internationally acclaimed Raleigh Ringers based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The cost of the weekend is $75 - the registration fee includes snacks on both days and all sessions with Mr. Harris, including the massed ring and final community performance. Checks can be made payable to "Isle Bells" and sent to P.O. Box 8818, Kodiak, AK 99615 to reserve a spot. Isle Bells is very excited to host Mr. Harris and share his skills with the state of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Please check the blog handbellseminarwithdavidharris.blogspot.com regularly for updates on travel, lodging, info about Kodiak and more. The three Massed Ringing pieces are: "How Can I Keep From Singing?" arr. by Arnold Sherman (Red River Music HB0060), "Grazioso" by Arnold Sherman, (Red River HB0042) and "Rejoice, He is Risen" by Cathy Moklebust (Choristers Guild CGB721). Please email Ella Saltonstall, Artistic Director of Isle Bells at [email protected] with any questions

     Virtual Handbell Ensemble is an exciting new project of the Handbell Musicians of America, in which you will have the opportunity to perform a new work of music via video uploads.

      Misterium, by James Meredith, consists of 135 musical segments to be recorded separately by individuals and small groups of players from around the world over a seven month period and uploaded to the web. All of the segments will be assembled by the editing videographer and the composer into the final work to be premiered online in July, 2013.

     For a video introduction by Mr. Meredith and all the information you need to participate, please visit the project website by clicking the picture above or going to virtual.HandbellMusicians.org.

 

      The repertoire this year is loosely organized around the theme of "Our Journey;" there are some really nice pieces on the repertoire list. Again there will be two groups The Siskiyous and The Cascades along with the Massed group and an opportunity for those ringers who love a challenge and can ring Level 4 and 5 music to ring in the Bronze Conference Choir. Ellie Hodder will once again direct the BCC; remember that you will need to apply to be part of BCC and must learn your ringing position prior to arrival. Rehearsals for the BCC will begin Friday at 4:00 pm.

     Registration materials will be sent out in early January with a March 1^st deadline for application to the Bronze Conference Choir. If you have any questions or would like registration materials sent electronically please contact Diane Barnes at [email protected].