New Mexico Spring Ring

Registration

Registration is $45 per ringer

Register Today

Lunch

Boxed lunches from Jason’s Deli are available for purchase at the time of registration for $10.

Lunch options:  Meat Sandwich, Veggie Sandwich, Gluten-free

WHERE: Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 8600 Academy Rd., Albuquerque, NM 87111
WHEN: Saturday, March 28, 2026

WHO: Our fabulous clinician Gillilan Erlenborn and YOU! Invite your friends to our concert!
WHY: Because it’s collaborative, cohesive, challenging, educational, skill-building, rewarding and fun!

8:00 am – Choirs arrive and set up in the gym
9:00 am – 12:00 pm – Rehearsal
12:00 – 1:00 pm – LUNCH! Purchase a box lunch (preselection and reservation required. See
registration form) or bring your own. Some fast -food choices are nearby the venue, within
driving or brisk walking distance. $10.00 box lunch (optional) – Jason’s Deli sandwich – meat, veggie, gluten-free
1:00 – 3:15/3:30 pm – Rehearsal, final run-through, change for concert
4:00 pm – Concert – massed pieces and solos! Open to the public with a freewill offering.

CONTACT: Nancy Roberts-Small
Desert Sub-Chair, Area 11, Handbell Musicians of America
[email protected]
(505) 263-2704

All participants need to purchase a copy of each piece and have it prepared and practiced before the event.

Joyfully Ring –  by Doug Benton – Area 11 Anthem available free on the Area 11 website

Exuberent Joy – by Arnold Sherman – (Chorister’s Guild MCGB427; DCGB427 (digital)) Level 2,  Octaves 3-5

In the Shadow of your Wings – by Karen Lakey Buckwalter (Beckenhorst MBEHB787) Level 3, Octaves 3-6

I Will Sing of My Redeemer – by Rowland H. Pritchard; arr by Lloyd Larson – (Hope MHP2591) Level 2, Octaves 3-5

Sway – by Pablo Beltran Ruiz; arr by Sandra Eithun – (Hope MHP2587) Level 3, Octaves 3-5

Solos are welcome and encouraged!

Our New Mexico Spring Ring concert is open to the public.

Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 4 p.m.

All massed pieces and solos will be included.

PDF for Download Rehearsal Notes

Rehearsal Notes

New Mexico Spring Ring 2026

Gillian Erlenborn – March 28th, 2026

General Notes

Hi everyone! I am so excited to be making music with you in just a couple of short months! We are going to have a blast. Please keep up with your practicing so that we can spend the day making music, not finding notes. 🙂 The more prepared you are, the more you can watch – and that’s when the fun begins!

As you are preparing your music, please be sure to pay attention to all dynamic markings (including footnotes). Our composers have given us instructions to help guide us. Let’s make sure we take their instructions!

I expect this to be our concert order, but we’re musicians, so expect that things may change. 😉

Repertoire

Joyfully Ring! – Douglas J. Benton

• I’m really looking forward to doing the Area 11 anthem with you! We’ll use this as our opener to welcome everyone to our event.
• With a repeating melody and relatively simple rhythms, it is important that we bring out the dynamics as much as possible.
• M 23: be ready for a big ritardando to bring us into the last measures!
• Your job in this piece, and the next, is to exude Joy!

Exuberant Joy – Arnold Sherman

• Note the footnote on the first page regarding the LVs!
• Practice this opening especially with a metronome – it is easy to get faster and rush with repetitive patterns.
• Mm 28-32 and 35-38: play the eighth notes near the marts close to the table so that we can keep those marts very clean and unified.
• Mm 35-39: really big crescendo!
• M 65: how dramatic can we make the subito mp?? 😈

In the Shadow of Your Wings – Karen Lakey Buckwalter

• This piece has the potential to be gut-wrenchingly beautiful – but only if we are all working together. Please be prepared enough that all eyes can be on me so we can play with some true rubato. A brief look down at your music should be an occasional diversion from your usual (an absolutely locked-in sightline).
• Mm 1-12: the whole section should be treated like one ritardando (eyes constantly). We’ll be slowing down and pushing a lot.
• Mm 15-18: make sure you have space on the table to make that transition from chimes to bells without hitting anything.
• M 16: let the bells sneak in; we don’t want the audience to notice the bells right away.
• M 18: the high treble melody that begins at 18 should feel simple. Make sure the triplet is right, but don’t let it feel measured.
• Mm 49-50: same as above; make sure you have space on the table to make that transition from chimes to bells without hitting anything.
• Mm 75-82: lots of strength from our bass!
• Mm 83-88: let the eighth/quarter pattern in the bass Eb and flow – be careful not to let it dominate.
• M 104: please add a fermata.

Sway – Sandra Eithun

• This should be all about having fun. Feel free to dance it out!
• We should have percussionists, so expect for measures 1-4 and 79 to be played!
• As with all malleting, please make sure you are alternating hands always. Your mallets should alternate every strike, not be assigned to one bell each.
• M 13: bring out those dynamics!
• Mm 30-34 (and all repetitions): please try to crescendo through those mallet rolls.
• M 53: please note that the C6 on beat one is part of the malleted chord.
• M 71: do what you can to get these chromatic lines cleanly with whatever tricks your choir usually uses! Here are my suggestions:
• Ps 8: ring as normal, but also play the E6 on beat three for Ps 9.
• Ps 10: play Gs on beat one, Abs beat three, and Bbs on beat four.
• Ps 11: play B6 on beat one, As on and of three, Bs on and of four.
• M 82: similar issue here. My suggestion:
• Ps 6: ring as normal, but also play the Ab on three for Ps 7.
• Ps 7: only play the A on and of three and the Bb on beat four.
• Ps 8: ring as normal, but also play the B on and of four for Ps 7.
• Ps 10: play G on beat one, Ab beat three, and Bb on beat four.
• Ps 11: play C7 on beat one, A on and of three, B on and of four.

I Will Sing of My Redeemer – Lloyd Larson

• M 34: please add an mp marking.
• Mm 41-44: be careful not to rush. Louder doesn’t mean faster!
• M 49: the tied D7 will die out before measure 56. Don’t worry about it, just keep your circular motion going as much as you can while you are continuing to ring and damp the D6.
• M 49: D4/D3, as just above, just keep moving your bell along the track of your circular stroke to keep your bell alive as long as possible.
• Mm 79-83: try not to let the addition of the 7s increase the volume too much. We’ll remain mf until the crescendo in 83.
• Mm 88-89 must be memorized. The rit/mart combo will be deadly if any eyes are down. Subdivide with me!
• Mm 98-105: C4 add a small accent on beat 1 each measure.
• Mm 129-end: must be memorized as well!