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Message from the Chair - Scott Leggett
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Happy New Year!
For me, the time since Thanksgiving to now has been a blur with so much going on and so little time to reflect on what was experienced. Now with a moment to rejuvenate after Christmas, I remember more details of the concerts that I was a part of and the joy and great time had by the audiences and performers alike. I think of all the rehearsals cramming all the Christmas music to learn in the short weeks in the Fall, but with all that hard work paying off in the performances. For me, January is the time to take stock of where I am musically, where my groups are, and where I want to go in the New Year, what I want to accomplish, and what I want my groups to accomplish.
One suggestion for everyone is to take advantage of all the events Area 12 has to offer our members in 2020 starting right away this month, leading up to our Las Vegas Conference in July which is going to be a fantastic event.
I encourage you all to take a moment to reflect on last year, this past holiday time, and plan your 2020 with some achievable goals in your music life and how we can spread the joy of handbell ringing to more people in our communities.
'Til next time,
Scott
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Red, White, & Bells - Las Vegas 2020
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Getting Ready: The Road to Vegas 2020
In addition to performing great handbell repertoire in the final concert, the Las Vegas conference is a great opportunity to learn more about our beloved instrument. We have invited experts in handbells from all over Area 12 to present topics sure to pique your interest, whether you are a ringer or director or both. In addition to the standards such as reading sessions, four-in-hand, and techniques classes, we have included some other unique offerings sure to catch your attention. Here are some highlights:
- Diminishing Page Turns - Paul Allen: If you've been wondering how to get your choir to go digital, this is the class for you!
- Running a Children's Ensemble - Karen Carlisle: Children are the future of our instrument. Learn how to build and grow a youth handbell program!
- Help! We're Short a Ringer! - Gail Berg: Ensembles everywhere are struggling to fill the spots at the table. Here are some creative ways to work with what you've got.
- Healthy Ringing in a Conference Setting - KatRyn Howell: Learn how to take care of yourself in order to make it through a marathon of massed ringing rehearsals injury-free!
- Crazy Fun - Just Dance! - Melanie Graber and Elizabeth Eggleston: This class has nothing to do with ringing, and everything to do with giving your brain a break and finding new ways to move and have fun!
Check out our conference website for the
full listing of classes and teachers! You might find a class that combines your love of handbells and dendrology, or offers Oreos as a reward for attendance... or contains all the colors of the rainbow!
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San Francisco Bay Area - Marquise Usher
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Sat, March 14, 2020
Area 12 Directors Workshop
Clinicians: Tessique Houston & Barbara Walsh
Additional information and registration form can be downloaded here.
This event is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America.
Save the Dates:
Fri & Sat, April 24 & 25, 2020
Bay Area Spring Ring & Intense Ring
Clinician: Stephanie Rhoades
Hey Bay Area!
I hope you've had a wonderful holiday season filled with joy, delicious food, family, and music! This year I was able to attend more concerts than usual as well as view more live streamed concerts. There is no doubt our community is filled with all kinds of talent, even beyond playing handbells. Some of you are exquisite writers and graphic artists. You used your talents to help your handbell ensemble shine the brightest even before playing a note.
Perhaps you may want to write an article or short story for the Twelfth Tone? Or maybe you're a photographer and have photos to share from your winter concerts? Head on over to the Area 12 website and
check out the easy guidelines for submitting to the Twelfth Tone.
Best wishes in the new year!
Your Regional Coordinator,
Marquise Usher
For information on San Francisco Bay Area's concerts,
events, and other opportunities,
click here.
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Los Angeles Metro - Sharon Guilliams
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Fri &
Sat, March 20 & 21, 2020
LA Metro Spring Ring
Ringin' at Red Hill
Clinicians: Matthew Compton and Erik Der
Additional information and registration form can be downloaded
here.
This event is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America.
Wow has the year flown by! A little retrospective: We had one sponsored event (
Ring, Read, and Rejoice in June) and two endorsed events that took place (
Bell Jubilee in September and a Timbré Workshop in November). The events were well-attended and the feedback was very positive.
As we look forward to 2020, it is going to be full of opportunities. The earliest one is on March 20th:
The LA Metro Spring Ring with Matthew Compton and Erik Der. Even if you can't register now, please
email me your intent to attend so that we can plan accordingly.
Note that we are looking at an pre-event "rehearsal" on
February 8th to allow individual ringers that have been learning the music on their own to play the music in a group setting. Time is being finalized, so please check back in the February newsletter.
Then I hope to see you in Vegas at
Red, White, and Bells over the 4th of July weekend. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email -- I am the registrar so I am happy to help you with any and all questions.
Based on the feedback from last year's event, I plan on having another
Bell Jubilee in September. If you would like to see other events in the LA Metro Region please let me know. My intent is that we fill the needs of our members and our non-members.
I hope to hear from you all throughout 2020.
For information on LA Metro's concerts, events,
and other opportunities,
click here.
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Southern California - Michèle Sharik
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Saturday, May 23, 2020
SoCal Spring Ring
Clinician: Douglas Lynn
This event is sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America.
Happy New Year, SoCal!
I hope you've had a wonderful holiday season! Up here in the High Desert, our home is at 4,000 ft elevation, so we've been snowed in
twice so far where they've closed both major routes out of our town. We're very blessed, however, to have a warm home and good food to keep us going through the "snowpocalypse", even if we couldn't leave the house for a few days.
The holidays were a bit busier for me than I expected, so I apologize, but I don't yet have the Spring Ring registration paperwork ready. I will announce it on Facebook when it's available, so be sure to keep an eye on the
SoCal page. I expect it to be ready sometime during the middle of the month.
Speaking of Spring Ring, I'd like to have a handbell store, but we no longer have any Area 12 handbell vendors to attend, so our only option would be to have a "store in a box" (in which a remote vendor sends us a box of merchandise and we sell it for them). I'd be happy to make the arrangements but
I NEED YOUR HELP at the event! I need one or two people to volunteer to staff the store table during the event. (I can't do it myself and still run the event -- I tried it one year and doing both is too much for me.) The volunteers would need to staff the table before the event, during the breaks and lunch, as well as handle the sales transactions. Area 12 will provide lunch for the volunteers, so please
email me if you're willing to help with this.
Please also don't forget that if you're attending the event as an individual ringer, our clinician
Douglas Lynn has offered to help a "pick-up choir" of individuals rehearse before the big day. Please
contact him for more information.
May your new year be happy and bright!
For information on Southern California's concerts, events,
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Central California - Christine Anderson
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Happy New Year, CenCal!
There are so many thoughts and emotions going through us at this time of year -- remembering events of the past, hopes and dreams for the future. I can hardly believe my husband and I have lived in the mountains in Kern County for two decades! You are all probably relieved that busy December is over, and ready for a break this next month. So during the temporary lull, here are some ideas to consider:
- Bell trees: if you've needed to use clips or discs to keep bells separated, there is a permanent solution. Simply replace handguards for the next size up. I start with Eb6.
- Polishing: I buy my Blue Magic polish at my local hardware store, and put my hands in old socks to apply with no mess! (Also at the hardware store, I found the cutest "bell cozies" for the extra bells I tote to a concert -- they are really beer and wine bottle cozies, but the perfect size for large and small bells.)
- Refurbishing/repairing your bells: Now is the perfect time to do this, when bells are not in use for a little while.
- Registration is open for our fabulous conference in July: let's encourage all ringers/choirs to attend!
May 2020 bring you joy!
For information on Central California's concerts, events,
and other opportunities,
click here.
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Northern Nevada - Barb Walsh
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Howdy!
Here is the third installment of
Into the Great Unknown:
Preparing for a Handbell Event On Your Own by Genevieve Parker and myself.
Into the Great Unknown
Preparing for a Handbell Event on Your Own
Part 3:
Practicing at Home
Ideally, you'll be able to bring your assigned bells, chimes, pad, mallets, etc., home to practice on a table. If you don't have access to bells, it will help your muscle memory to find a prop. Spoons, ladles, hairbrushes, and salad dressing bottles are just a few ideas. Be creative! If you decide not to use a prop, definitely still train your muscles by mimicking ringing technique by moving your hands, or by tapping.
After you feel fairly comfortable getting through the pieces, try ringing with a recording. There are apps you can download to slow down the tempo without altering the pitch so you can practice along with it at whatever tempo you're able to (try
The Amazing Slow Downer app). YouTube also has a setting you can use for this purpose. Remember how you had to practice your scales on the piano with a metronome? Well, it's a great idea for bells, too! There are lots of metronome apps if you don't have an actual metronome. As you play, notice if there are places where you speed up or slow down. If you're slowing down, it's probably because of some technique or rhythm issue that you should isolate and work out. If you're speeding up, you're probably not subdividing the beat as you play. Always subdivide!
Here are some other rehearsal tips:
- Try using different articulations, especially shorter ones such as TD, PL, and marts to help clean up rhythms.
- Don't always start at the beginning and play through. You could end up only knowing the beginning well. Try starting with the ending and then backing up gradually until you're playing the entire piece. This is a good confidence booster because you're always working towards something familiar. Sometimes just work on a single section and then move on to another piece.
- Actually practice looking up. We often hear that we should look up every measure, but challenge yourself to glance down only every two measures.
- Always practice reading ahead.
Next month we'll share our ideas on where to stay, what to pack, and planning your itinerary.
Barbara Walsh
For information on Northern Nevada's concerts, events,
and other opportunities,
click here.
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Northern California - Sandi Walker-Tansley
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Happy New Year to you all!
I hope this finds you all well, and recovered from the busy holiday handbell season. We are fortunate to spread much holiday cheer to folks who often need it.
I also hope your plans are underway for spring. Whether it's preparing for Lent and Easter, or working on music for Spring Ring (or both?), it will be bell season again soon.
The Sacramento Spring Ring is returning, details to come soon. If you are closer to the Bay Area, that Spring Ring is also coming soon. I hope to see you there!
If you have any questions or just want to chat about bells, please contact me by email. I would love to meet you!
Sandi Walker-Tansley
For information on Northern California's concerts, events, and other opportunities,
click here.
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Mele Kalikimaka!
(Merry Christmas!)
I hope you all had a Happy Holiday.
With handbells, this season is really busy, but we all get some great new experiences. I had some especially good moments, but I'd like to tell you about one in particular:
I work in a residential facility. Last year, I started teaching handbells to my group of adolescent boys, with the end goal of performing for their families, state workers, and probation officers. This year, it was only two performances: one for some volunteers of the facility, and the other for family. Unfortunately, two of the kids did not have any family come at all, so staff was helping by filling in. Keep in mind that none of the clients or staff know music at all when we start. I basically have two months, with only one session per week to work with them. The boys were doing a great job and the staff were troopers!
So here comes the performance day and the two staff who said they would fill in were not able to be there. So what to do? Grab the next staff and quickly show them what to do! They all did great; they performed and everyone was impressed.
One boy made my day -- now you may not necessarily see this as a compliment, but it is the highest praise coming from these boys -- when he said, "Thanks Karen for not making us look like idiots!"
At first, the boys questioned why we were even doing this, then when they realized it was actually happening, they focused. Trying new things is difficult for some of them, and I needed to positively encourage them.
It's the same as having a new ringer that is not so confident. Believe in them and encourage them, and they can accomplish anything!
Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! (Happy New Year!)
For information on Hawaii's concerts, events,
and other opportunities,
click here.
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Southern Nevada - Alison Pruett
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Happy New Year, Southern Nevada!
Alison Pruett
For information on Southern Nevada's concerts, events,
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