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Greetings, Area 12!
The results of our latest election are in! Please join me in welcoming Scott McGlasson as our new Chair-Elect. We are looking forward to working with him on your Area 12 board.
Thirty-seven votes were cast in this election, which is better than the 27 cast in the Secretary & Treasurer election earlier this year, but still only a fraction of the Area 12 voting membership. We sincerely hope that a larger portion of our voting membership will vote in the next area election (in 2026).
(By the way, we are always looking for people who might be interested in serving on the Area 12 board, so if that’s you, please reach out!)
There were two Spring Rings this past weekend -- one in Sunnyvale (SF Bay Area) and one in Oceanside (SoCal). I was happy to be able to help Carol out at the SoCal event and I even got to ring in Bronze Vision under our clinician Douglas Lynn! There were about 60 ringers at the event and a good time was had by all.
As some of you know, I am in process of moving from the Southern California High Desert to Vallejo, which is between San Francisco and Sacramento. If any of you live in that area, I’d love to meet up with you over lunch or coffee (or even just over Zoom) and hear your thoughts about the Guild, Area 12, or about handbells in general. My door is always open!
As always, I hope to see many of you at upcoming events in Area 12 and across the country.
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Bay Bells, 1995
Marsha is front left.
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Marsha Wells
Area 12 is sad to hear of the passing of Marsha Wells, a former Area 12 Secretary and long-time beloved member of the Bay Area handbell community.
Services are planned for Saturday, May 17 at 11 AM at Saint Timothy’s Lutheran Church, 5100 Camden Ave. in San Jose, with a reception for all to follow. Our deepest condolences to her family and friends. May her memory be a blessing to all of us.
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Hello LA Metro
Registration is still open for Concordia's handbell summer camp for grades 5-9. From June 9-13, camp attendees will experience Concordia's beautiful campus and music facilities while improving their handbell skills and general music abilities. (No music or handbell experience required.) Registration includes daily lunches, five days full of music activities and learning, snacks, a mini golf outing, a closing concert for the parents, and so much more! If your child or student is interested in handbells or music in general, then this is a great opportunity! Handbells are the perfect way to have fun while staying active and making music in an ensemble.
Registration fee: $400 (use promo code HANDBELLCAMPNOW for a discount)
Registration Deadline: Registration deadline has been extended to May 12. Register at bit.ly/Handbellcamp
Overnight in Dorms: Optional overnight in dorms is available for an additional $275 fee. This fee includes four overnights in a dorm, all meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), evening games & activities, a movie night, a bonfire night, and more! A Staff member will be on site 24/7 to chaperone and run activities.
General Schedule:
- Rehearsals, Workshops, and fun music activities each day from 9:00am - 4:00pm (overnight students will enjoy breakfast and dinner, and evening camp activities, such as a movie night, bon fire night, games, and more!)
- Lunch and snack Breaks daily
- Off campus Mini golf outing on Wednesday (transportation provide)
- Closing Concert on Friday from 4:00pm - 4:45pm (parents welcome!
Erik Der
LA Metro Coordinator
Handbell Musicians of America
https://Area12.HandbellMusicians.org
LA Metro is Orange, Ventura, & Los Angeles Counties.
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to submit YOUR event!
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Check out all the membership options and benefits for Handbell Musicians of America HERE.
Current Area 12
Member Count:
188
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BAY AREA
Marquise Usher
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Area 12 Board Members at the Bay Area Spring Ring
Maggie Paton, Cathy Griggs, Barbara Walsh, and Marquise Usher.
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Greetings Bay Area Friends!
This past Saturday, May 3rd, over 80 ringers gathered at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church to ring under the direction of Barbara Walsh. A big Thank you! to Handbell Ventures for all your work to make this annual event a success. Barb's enthusiasm and encouragement helped the ringers do their best at the closing concert where we were joined by the Messiah Brass.
If you missed coming this year, put April 18, 2026, on your calendar and plan to attend when Brian Childers will be our director.
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Dear CenCal,
Spring is in full swing, and with it comes a flurry of wonderful handbell events across our area. I'm excited to share some details from a recent benefit concert in San Luis Obispo held on March 23.
Three choirs featuring thirty-one ringers participated: Joyful Noise from Atascadero United Methodist Church, Trinity Ringers from Trinity United Methodist Church in Los Osos, and the Bel Canto Ringers from San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church. Three pieces were selected for mass ringing, and each choir also performed two solo numbers. The concert drew a standing room only crowd of about 200 people and raised more than $3,800 for the LA Fires Recovery Fund 2025. Debbie Wacker reflected, “We have not had a local spring ring event since before the pandemic, and it was wonderful to be together!” Ginny Rodgers, director of Bel Canto Ringers, spearheaded the event and said everyone was thrilled with the outcome. A big shout-out also goes to Rich Bolin, director of Trinity Ringers, and Marilu Weaver-Meagher from Joyful Noise, who were instrumental in making the day a success.
It’s certainly a busy time for handbells! You shouldn’t need to look too hard to find a concert or event happening near you. And don't forget—submit your own events to the Area 12 website so we can feature them on our calendar.
We’re always looking for fun stories and highlights to share. If your ensemble has something exciting coming up—or just wrapped up a great event—send me the details (and photos if you have them)! I’d love to help celebrate all the musicians in our region.
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Carol Pickford
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Southern California is San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, & Imperial Counties
For information on Southern California concerts, events, and other opportunities, click here.
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Hello SoCal,
Our Southern California Spring Ring in Oceanside, this last weekend with clinician Douglas Lynn was a big success. 60 Ringers had a great time ringing together! The only thing that would have made the day better was having you there ringing with us.
If you missed this event, I encourage you to look at the calendar on the Area 12 website. May is such a busy time for our handbell community, and there are lots of great concerts happening this month. If your concert is not listed yet, be sure to submit it.
Blessing,
Carol Pickford
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Cindy Ksiazek
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Quotable Quotes
Over the years of attending festivals, conferences, and workshops I have a tendency to hone in on quotes from directors, ringers, clinicians, and people in general. I would like to share some of those memorable quotes.
“Music is love in search of a word. Music is a way to create joy in individuals. Notes on the page are only 10% of the music. Don’t be afraid of the 'm' word. Excellence does not equate to perfection. Rehearse a skill, not a symptom! You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Performance provides others a moment in time to experience something beautiful. Speak musically-this music isn’t loud, it is FORTE. The handbell is a machine with a vocal quality. Beyond these doors we are all human. Fear of failure is the fear of making mistakes and losing approval. Mistakes happen so treat the experience as an opportunity to learn and mature.”
As your regional coordinator, one of the things that I am doing is compiling a list of active bell choirs in the Sacramento area. If you are a member of an active bell choir would you please let me know. If you are hosting an event such as a workshop would you please submit that event to our Area 12 calendar. If you are new to the Sacramento area and would like to find a bell choir to ring in please let me know and I will do my best to give you some names of bell choirs near you.
Your regional coordinator,
Cindy Ksiazek
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For information on Northern Nevada concerts, events, and other opportunities,
click here.
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Howdy!
The Forte concert in Reno was amazing! I hope you were able to attend it because it was VERY inspirational!
Don't forget about our upcoming Sierra Spring Ring THIS WEEKEND, May 10th! The 23rd Annual Sierra Spring Ring is happening this next weekend, May 10th from 9:00-4:00 at Sparks United Methodist Church, 1231 Pyramid Way in Sparks, NV! There will be massed ringing (two pieces, TBD) and classes - 4-in-Hand, Weaving, Well Ringing=Ringing Well, Prepping Your Music at Home without Bells, Ringing without Music, and Booms and Beats (percussion and rhythm). The cost for all this is only $20! Registration coming soon! Contact me for more info.
The Bay Area Spring Ring is endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America, dedicated to uniting people through the musical art of handbell and handchime ringing. www.handbellmusicians.org
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FAR NORTHERN LIAISON
Nancy Schmitt
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REDDING HANDBELL FESTIVAL
Saturday, October 18, 2025
9:10a.m. through the final concert 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Redding Christian Fellowship
2157 Victor Ave.
Redding, CA
The Redding Handbell Festival is endorsed by Handbell Musicians of America, dedicated to uniting people through the musical art of handbell and handchime ringing. www.handbellmusicians.org
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REDDING HANDBELL FESTIVAL
Massed Ringing Director: Matthew Compton
We hope you will join us on Oct. 18 for a wonderful day of ringing. Music has been selected!
Repertoire for massed ringing:
Song of Assurance by Arnold Sherman Level 2
Andante Maestoso, arr. Kevin McChesney Level 2
I’ve Got Peace Like a River, arr. Valerie Stephenson Level 3
Momentary, by Matthew Compton Level 3-
Classes are sure to get you moving:
Mallet Mayhem will get you striking the right note (Clinician Artie Pascual)
Sharing Your Toys & Put Them Back Where You Found Them is a weaving class you won’t want to miss (Clinician Theresa Benedett)
Bell Trees in a Day (Clinician Julie Hunziker)
Engaging Your Audience (Clinician Lois Nichol)
Revving Up for the Red Zone Bronze Choir (Clinician Matthew Compton)
Attending a fall festival is a great way to jump start your ringing season. Full choirs and individuals are all welcome.
Registration fee is $40.00 per person.
For registration forms please check out the Area 12 calendar or e-mail me at schmitt@awwwsome.com
Happy Ringing,
Nancy Schmitt
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A full-service handbell store
with music and accessories:
gloves • gifts
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mallets • binders
bell tree items
Malmark products
visit us at
www.heitzhandbells.com
612-208-1741
877-426-3235
heitzhandbells@yahoo.com
7209 Morgan Ave S Richfield, MN 55423
ADVERTISEMENT 6/23
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The Twelfth Tone is published on or around the first of each month, except July, by Area 12 of the Handbell Musicians of America (The Guild). The Guild is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the musical art of handbell/handchime ringing through education, community, and communication. The editor of this publication reserves the right to reject or modify copy.
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Teachers: Would you like the use of a three octave set of handbells or handchimes to add interest and a new dimension to your music class?
Area 12 encourages schools and other educational institutions, both public and private, to develop educational programs using handbells and handchimes.
To support the development of such programs, Area 12 has six 3-octave sets of handbells and three 3-octave sets of handchimes for loan.
To learn more about the responsibilities and procedures for participating in this program, click here.
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