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Volume 15 • Issue 1 • New Year Issue 2022
Notes from the Chair
Happy New Year 2022!
I hope you and yours enjoyed the holidays! We are off and ringing in 2022 with lots of traditional Area 11 events. We just had our 10th Annual SuperBell Saturday Read & Ring in all five of our states. Then coming up quickly are our Spring Rings in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming! Be sure to register soon to enjoy our wonderful clinicians. Registration is also already open for our Ringing Up! Festival this June in Tempe, Arizona. So many opportunities to make music and ring again with friends.
Our board has been working hard, but we could always use help! Either small or big, we need your assistance and share your knowledge. We have put together two request forms, 1) volunteers and 2) board nominations. This April we will have our Board elections for Chair-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer. We always welcome volunteers for any task and are open to new ideas!
Our Area 11 TEAM consists of TEN wonderful fun volunteers (Chair, Chair-Elect, Past Chair, Sec-Treas, Mountain Sub-Area, Desert Sub-Area, Communications, Events, Youth, Chime Loan). Some of these positions rotate every two years. Then we have our local event chairs, registrars, planners, food coordinators, and host locations for our SuperBell & Ringers’ Roundup events. And that’s just to name just a few! We would LOVE for you to join us and help keep Area 11 growing!
If you have any questions or interest, you can reach me at 303-898-7056.
How Can I Help?
Do you know someone who loves handbells and would be perfect for the Area 11 Board. We are seeking nominees for Chair-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer. Nominate today!
Nomination for Area 11 Board
How can you help? Area 11 is looking for handbell rockstars to help with jobs big and small! Take our handbell helper survey and share your talents with us!
Handbell Helper Survey
Ringing Up 2022 – Area 11 Festival
June 23-26, 2022 – Clinician: Ellie Hodder
We’re all about three numbers, ‘bout three numbers! No letters! We’re all about three numbers, ‘bout three numbers! No letters!
(Bonus points if you sang that in your head to the tune of “We’re all about that Bass!)
This month is all about these THREE numbers while we’re talking about our Ringing Up 2022 Festival!
31 – early bird registration ends on March 31!
10 – we have 10 scholarships to award! The link to the scholarship application can be found on the registration form.
22 – the first 22 people that register for our Ringing Up 2022 Festival will have their names put in a drawing for a prize given at Festival!
We are so excited for this upcoming festival in Phoenix, Arizona with Ellie Hodder on June 23-26, 2022! We’ve got some awesome classes and workshops, some fantastic concerts, and a terrific repertoire planned for all the ringing tracks and mass ringing! You won’t want to miss it! Click here to register before March 31, 2022 to get the early bird registration price!
Spring Rings
March 12, 2022 – Utah Spring Ring
Our one day festival welcomes Dave Harris as our clinician for this mass-ringing event! Concert with six mass pieces for all to enjoy!
Find out more on the Utah Spring Ring Event Page
March 19, 2022 – Northern Colorado Spring Ring
Our one day festival in Northern Colorado (NOCO) welcomes Brenda Austin as our clinician for this bi-annual event! Concert with five mass pieces for all to enjoy!
Find out more on the NOCO Event Page
May 6-7, 2022 – Wyoming Spring Ring
Two days with clinician Michael Glasglow, brings ringers together for a mass-ringing event in Casper, Wyoming
Find out more on the Wyoming Spring Ring Page
See even more in the Area 11 Bulletin Board for Local Concerts and Ads!
Focus on the Good Things
LeAnna Wilmore, Chair-elect
For conductors: It’s time to move forward and look at our past two years as a time of growth and coping. We have all learned new ways to set up our rehearsals in order to keep our ringers safe like we never imagined before.
To continue a forward path, you might ask yourself:
How can I prepare for a more effective rehearsal? Do I prepare my scores and mark difficult passages that need work? Do I plan the order of rehearsal and the time allotted to rehearsing each number?
How can I recruit new members? Have I used my ringers as a resource? Do I make requests of my ringers to find musicians that could enjoy learning the art of bell ringing along with the socialization of the bell ensemble?
How can I improve my conducting skills? Do I conduct everything with two hands, or do I know how to use my left hand for expressive gestures? Have I attended a conducting seminar to zero in on areas to improve my conducting skills?
How can I find music that is enjoyable and on the right level for my choir? Do I attend area workshops to read new music? Do I search catalogues and online publishers for new materials?
Recognizing the potential in your ringers and being a source of light and energy for them is the best way to keep them interested and motivated. Reaching outward for improvement in your skills helps you enjoy what you are doing and gives you longevity in your position. Focus on the good things that bell ringing brings to you and your ringers and deepen your commitment to improving and making the best of the future with your choir.
LeAnna Willmore, Chair-Elect, Area 11
News from National
HMA Welcomes a New Executive Director
We are pleased to announce Linda Onorevole as Executive Director of Handbell Musicians of America.
International Symposium
Join friends from near and far at the 2022 International Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee!
Upcoming Board Meetings
February 12th – 8am MST
March 5th – 8am MST
April 9th – 8am MST
Newsletter Archive
Click here to see any of our previous newsletters from 2012-2021.
Articles for Newsletter
Want to share an exciting experience or tips and tricks with our handbell community?
Deadline to add articles for the newsletter is the 25th of the previous month. Articles may be submitted to the Communications Chair in .doc format and with an picture of the author in .jpg format.