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Volume 20 • Issue 4 • Back to Bells 2026
Notes from the Chair
Area 11,
It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Chair these past two years. When I joined the board, I was fresh out of college and new to the handbell scene. I had just finished my first semester teaching at my school and I got married right before our Area 11 Festival in Tempe, Arizona. I had only attended National Seminar, and I was nervous to experience the Area 11 Festival as a newly elected board member. I had the most amazing experience and felt very welcomed by our board and festival attendees. Area 11 is special – and that was clear from the very beginning.
Our Area has accomplished so much since that moment. We’ve added new events like the Directors Seminar, Youth Workshops, and Area 11 Youth Camp. We’ve hosted two extremely successful festivals in Utah and Colorado. We’ve increased our membership and changed the name of Superbell Saturday to Read and Ring to make the event more applicable and appealing. We’ve introduced Membership/Ensemble Spotlights and held a composition contest for our Area 11 Anthem. We’ve accomplished a lot in a few years and challenged ourselves to rise above the occasion and offer as many opportunities as possible.
I want to thank each and every person in all of our 5 states: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Whether you attended a festival, hosted a workshop, brought your choir to an event, or simply kept the music ringing in your local community, your passion is the heartbeat of our area. Our vibrant handbell community only thrives because of your dedicated participation, energy, and shared love for this art form.
An extraordinary community requires extraordinary leadership behind the scenes. I have been blessed these past two years with the most extraordinary leadership team. Running an area as geographically vast and musically diverse as ours is no small task. Behind every event, newsletter, budget, registration form, and educational resource is a team of incredibly dedicated volunteers. Our board members give generously of their time, talents, and late nights—often working quietly in the background to ensure everything runs seamlessly for our ringers.
To our board: thank you for your tireless work, your creative vision, and your unwavering commitment to Area 11. Your dedication keeps our area grounded, inspired, and ringing strong.
Thank you to everyone who has supported our Area, supported our Board of Directors, and supported this fantastic art form. It has been an honor, and I’m excited to see all of the fantastic things to come!
Thank you for the opportunity of a lifetime!
Love and Bells,
Anne Kelley
Chair Elect
2026 Resolution
After Festival, my summer is surprisingly free of handbell events. A family wedding meant I couldn’t attend National Seminar, and I’m not attending the International Handbell Symposium in Scotland. So I can’t report any progress on my goal. However, I’ll attend the Colorado Fall Tune-Up in Arvada – will I see you there?
Upcoming Events
Registration for Fall Tune-Ups in September is on-line now! This is a great opportunity to kick-start your ringing year whether you are a director or ringer (or both!)
I’m very excited that the 2027 HMA National Seminar will be in Area 11 in Albuquerque, New Mexico from July 20-24, 2027. Seminar is an event where you can mingle with other handbell enthusiasts, attend concerts (there were 7 in 2026!), and take in multiple classes on all topics handbell and musicianship. Registration will open in the fall – watch your weekly email from Handbell Musicians of America. Oh! You don’t get that??? Scroll down to the bottom of this page to sign up: https://handbellmusicians.org/
Looking Forward
Your board will meet in September to welcome our new board members, confirm our 2026-2027 event plans, develop our 2026-2027 budget, and, most importantly, update our strategic plan. This plan was created at the 2024 Fall Board meeting, and reviewed at the 2025 Fall board meeting. The plan focuses on:
- Better Together using Festival to connect with community ensembles, offering scholarships, and expanding our Area 11 Leadership Team
- Connecting with members through events and communication
- Educating through new and on-line events and expanding descriptions of what events offer
- Membership expansion and adding benefits
We welcome your ideas on any of these focus areas – please contact me or any board member! You can find our emails here: https://area11.handbellmusicians.org/board-of-directors/
Until next time, just keep on ringing!
Sharon Schmidt
Upcoming Events
Fall Tune Up!
Saturday September 19th
Saturday, September 12th for Utah locations
Come Tune-Up your Handbell Skills!
Fall Tune-Up is an educational event for ringers of all levels to participate in workshops to learn or “tune-up” their skills. This event is also welcome to all levels of handbell and non-handbell directors to learn tips and tricks to assist your ringers with their ringing skills. Instruction will vary depending on the site location. Format may include individual classes and/or a group teaching setting. Please contact the site host for further questions.
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Saturday, September 12, 2026 (Utah Locations – Davis High School and Lehi Junior High)
Classes will vary by location.
Stay tuned for registration and locations
$12.00 for HMA members
$15.00 for non HMA members
$5.00 for Youth
Arizona
Colorado
New Mexico
Utah
For more information, contact our Mountain or Desert Sub-Area chairs.
Youth Ringers’ Camp 2027
Dates: June 13-17, 2027
Location: Pinecliff Camp, East Coalville, Utah
Clinician: Nathan Kleve
$250 per Youth Ringer
$125 per Adult Chaperone
We are excited to announce a Youth Ringers’ Camp for Summer 2027. This camp allows us to give youth a time to connect with each other and grow as handbell musicians. This camp will not replace our all-ages camp, but will be a fun-filled addition to our Area 11 events.
Our clinician for Youth Ringers’ camp is Nathan Kleve, an up-and-coming figure in handbells. He is also a former Area 11 Youth Representative as well as a composer of handbell music.
★ What is it?
- This 5 Day- 4 Night Camp is a Youth ONLY camp to help youth develop more ringing skills, learn new music, and have a lot of fun!
- The theme for Youth Camp is Pirates
★ Where is it?
- Located in the foothills of the Uintah Mountains, less than two hours from Salt Lake, Utah, Pinecliff Camp offers a rustic atmosphere to experience the outdoors.
★ Who is it for?
- The event is open to YOUTH handbell ringer ages 10 – 18.
- Area 11 includes the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah, but there is no need to limit participation according to where you may be located.
- Chaperones for the youth will also be needed.
Read and Ring Date Announcement
We have a date for 2027 Read and Ring. This event is a fun morning of sight-reading music with the opportunity to buy music (with no shipping costs).
Saturday, February 20th, 2027
We will have locations throughout Area 11
Other News
Events Survey
Area 11 needs your help! Area 11 would love your feedback on what our future events would look like. What type of events would you like to see? Some questions are required and others are not. You are welcome to answer anonymously. If you’d like to help out, please give your information at the end. Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions and help shape our Area. Deadline: Friday, August 21, 2026
National Seminar 2026
Area 11 Table
Board Members Represented 1
Board Members Represented 2
Do you have a graduating senior looking for a place to ring handbells?
Check out these resources for finding either an ensemble or a college handbell program.
Bulletin Board
Concert Bells of Fort Worth Composition Contest
WE NEED NEW MUSIC
Concert Bells of Fort Worth, an advance handbell ensemble, under the direction of Stephanie Rhoades is seeking submissions for our first ever Composition Contest! The winning submission will be featured in our Spring 2027 concerts. The winning prize is $1500 and the submission deadline is January 15, 2027. We are looking for original works which are non-holiday themed. Full contest language and requirements can be found on our website at www.concertbells.com
You can also contact the chair, former Area 11 member, Josh Fitzgerald at Contest@concertbells.com for submissions and questions.
We hope the talented musicians in the handbell community will consider writing something for us to play!
ISO Handbell Director - Green Mountain United Methodist Church, Lakewood, CO
Green Mountain United Methodist Church is looking for a handbell director, as our current director is retiring.
The church is located in Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. We have a thriving handbell program, consisting of 2 choirs: one playing 3+/4- music, and one playing 1+/2- music. Several of our ringers have been playing together for over 30 years! We have 5 octaves of Schulmerich bells as well as 5 octaves of Schulmerich chimes.
The advanced choir plays at the Sunday service monthly and also on Christmas Eve; the lower-level choir plays a few times a year. The rehearsals are held late August through mid-May. We have a permanent, dedicated space for the bells. No need to set up or tear down!
This is a paid position.
For more information, please contact: deannahanna2@gmail.com
ISO Handbell Director Church at Litchfield Park, AZ
The Church at Litchfield Park is seeking a handbell director starting this fall. Our historic church with great acoustics for handbells is located in a beautiful suburb, west of Phoenix, just across the street from the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park. Rehearsals are once per week and we play during worship once a month, plus Christmas Eve. We have a five octave set of handbells, plus chimes. Members of our two handbell choirs are experienced and dedicated ringers. The handbell music library has an extensive selection of music to select from. Our director retired and we would love to be able to start up again in September. If interested, contact the church at 624-935-3411 or by email at info@clp.church.
ISO: Director for Church Ensemble in Salt Lake City, UT
Our handbell choir of 12 people needs a new director! We rehearse on Monday nights 7-8:30 and play in church on the third Sunday morning of the month from September through May, We have 5 octaves of bells and a fun group. The church is at 17th and 17th. There is a stipend for this position. Interested? Please call Lisa Vitkus @ 216-965-5605 or email at vitkuslisa@gmail.org.
ISO: Ringers at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Sandy, UT
Have you been looking for a bell choir? Well, we’re looking for you! We’re a church choir located in Sandy, Utah, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. We have all levels of experience some members have been part of the choir for over 15 years, others just 5. We usually ring L2+ -L3 pieces with a 12 ringer ensemble, but we’ve shrunk! Due to illnesses, moving out of the area, and retirements, we now have a 7-member choir. We have five octaves of bells, and three of chimes. We’ve been playing 2-octave material but we yearn to get back to those full-bodied songs! Our 4 and 5 octaves of bells are feeling abandoned! Please help us let our bells know we love them and want to get them singing again! We practice at the church every Monday, from 6 – 7:15 pm, except during the summer. Ages 14 and up, with the ability to read music are welcome! Please call Kate McGuire at (925) 435-0096 and leave a message with your name and number. Or call Good Shepherd at (801) 255-8181.
Looking forward to ringing in 2025 with you!
Kate
Handbell Tables for Sale -Denver, CO
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2 Wood handbell tables. 30″x36″ rectangle, independently adjustable legs. Portable with folding legs. Free Schulmerick Case D 4th Octave for G3-B3 and C#7-G7. Perfect condition both inside and outside of the case. No wheels
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Joyfully Ring!
Into the Forest
August 20-22, 2026
Are you interested in bell trees?
Into the Forest will be held August 20-22, 2026, at Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC. This event is for bell tree ringers of all levels, beginner to advanced. 32 participants will spend three days learning, sharing, and socializing with fellow bell tree ringers. This unique event provides an opportunity for attendees to lead* and attend sessions in a collaborative and supportive environment. The event concludes with a concert for the public on Saturday, August 22, which will also be livestreamed.
Distinctly Bronze West
October 15-18, 2026
This massed ringing event being held at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, is for advanced handbell musicians. In 2026, Distinctly Bronze West will be led by conductor, Griff Gall. Four days of rehearsal lead up to a concert on Sunday, October 18, at 4:00 PM PDT that is open to the public and livestreamed via the HMA YouTube page.
Upcoming Board Meetings
Sept 11-13, 2026, Denver, Colorado
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