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A CHIMED Thank you

Snake River Montessori School has been blessed these past two years with a generous loan of a three-octave handchimes set from The Handbell Musicians of America Area 10 Chime Loan Program. The chimes program has been an after-school activity for over 10 years. Every year, children from grades 2- 6 have the opportunity to be a part of this choir and are able to perform for parents and the community. 

Limited and aging instruments meant that there was less accessibility for students, and being fortunate to receive the grant has allowed SRMS to continue with the program, opening even more doors to students to participate and be a part of the musical group.

Maria Montessori famously stated that the hand is the instrument of human intelligence. Snake River Montessori School strives to protect arts and music programs because the core philosophy views these subjects as fundamental tools for a child's natural development. 

Given this, the grant has helped the Chimes Choir to have more accessibility and confidence to perform in public as well as during special events at the school in front of family and friends. The Chimes Choir will continue to give back to the community, in hopes to perform at local homes during the wintertime, spreading joy to others around them.

It is more than just playing the instruments and songs. It shows that when you work together, music in its true beauty comes out for all to hear, and it is wonderful seeing the joy on young students' faces when they perform.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for entrusting Snake River Montessori with these beautiful chimes. We appreciate you and the Area 10 program.  

Yours Sincerely

Charlotte Farrer

Upper Elementary Teacher and Music Teacher.

FROM THE TOP

 In 2014, I was hired as the choir teacher at Rigby High School in Rigby, Idaho. The teacher for whom I was taking over invited me to walk through the school with him. He introduced me to the administration, walked through the building with me, showed me the fine arts hallway, showed me the auditorium, and showed me the music library. It was while we were in the music library that I first saw what looked to me like four large, old-timey black suitcases. Little did I know back then how much those four black suitcases would change my life.

Once I knew those cases contained English Handbells, I did some research on their value and told my principal that the handbells were worth quite a bit of money and suggested that maybe we could sell them and buy something nice for the choir department. She took a hard look at me and said, “Instead of selling them, why don’t you learn how to play them and teach the students?” I took that as a personal challenge to learn this instrument that I knew nothing about. So, I made a phone call to a former college professor of mine to ask if they knew anyone who could assist me. The phone number they gave me was none other than that of Phyllis Tincher (If you are reading this article, I assume you know who she is). I explained my situation to her, and she informed me that she was hosting a brand-new handbell conference in Nampa, ID, which she was calling the Snake River Handbell Conference. My wife and I went and rang in the conference (Jason Krug was the clinician) and absolutely fell in love with ringing. When I got back to Rigby High School, I told my students, “You guys must learn this instrument!! It is so much fun!”

When I began this handbell journey nearly 12 years ago, I had no idea how it would take shape in my life. Since beginning, I have been to six National Seminars, one International Handbell Symposium, countless handbell conferences, was a foreign guest ringing in Singapore with the Ministry of Bellz, served as Idaho state chair for Area 10, and am now serving as Area 10 chair. Life has a funny way of leading you to places you’d never even imagined.

Why do I tell you all this? We all have stories of how our handbell journey began, however unique and unorthodox they happen to be. I tell you my journey to handbells because I believe we can all benefit from learning new skills, taking a leap of faith, or inviting others to take the journey.

Is there a skill or talent that you do not currently possess that you would like to develop? As someone who teaches high schoolers every day, I am constantly asking them to try new things and to put themselves in situations where they can learn and grow from developing a new skill or ability. Do we sometimes get so caught up in our own lives that we forget what made us fall in love with handbells in the first place? The beauty of creating music shoulder to shoulder with like-minded individuals, the thrill of finally nailing that one tricky passage, or the lifelong friendships made from lugging bells, tables, foams, mallets, chimes, to various locations around the Northwest to ring for a weekend.

Coming out of 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic, many handbell ensembles were hit with the sad reality of dwindling membership. I am constantly seeing handbell sets and handchime sets for sale on Facebook because a church, community, or school group simply cannot get people to come ring. Have you invited anyone to come to a handbell concert? Invited anyone to come sit in on a rehearsal? Invited anyone to play handbells with you during rehearsal? Maybe you don’t have an active handbell ensemble because they need a director… could that person be you? I am not suggesting that the only way to save your local handbell ensemble is for you to take over as director, but is there something else you could do to keep it alive? Or perhaps you have recently been invited to try something non-handbell related. Did you accept the offer? Why not try something new?

Might I suggest that we, sometimes, get too comfortable being comfortable. I challenge anyone who is reading this to try something new, take time to learn about a skill that you have always wanted but don’t currently possess. Do some research, take a leap of faith, discover something new and exciting, invite others to do the same.

I am grateful and humbled to be serving as your new Area 10 Chair. I will also admit that I also feel very inadequate, I believe I lack so many of the requisite skills to do this job, but I am willing to try my best and learn something new along the way. Please reach out to your State Chairs or to the executive board if there is anything you might need. I look forward to meeting many of you at the upcoming Area 10 conference happening June 25 – 27, 2027 in Portland, Oregon. Until then.

Corbin Rasmussen

Area 10 Chair