Handbell Musicians of America
Our Events page has just been updated with a slew of new events through 2012 and beyond! Some of them are happening this weekend, so check it out!
If you are interested in attending the Arkansas Summer Handbell Seminar, please download and submit this registration form.
The May newsletters for the states of Arkansas and Alabama are available for viewing as well.
Have a great summer!
I am posting this on behalf of Beth Ann Edwards, who contacted us via email a few weeks ago asking for our assistance with a project she is working on for her master’s degree. The results of this survey could also be beneficial to all of us who are interested in handbell demographics, so please participate if you can. Here is the message she sent to us:
Handbell directors working with children and youth in churches, could you please take 10 minutes and compete a survey? Results will be reflected in my final paper, required for the Master of Church Music degree at Concordia University Wisconsin. For survey results or clarifications, contact me (bethannedwards@msn.com). The survey results will give us a current snapshot of the state of children’s and youth handbell choirs in churches. The survey is divided into three areas: church statistics and background, children’s and youth handbell choirs, and background of the survey respondent. I will make the results available later this spring or early this summer.
To access the survey, please go to the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8T3S3R8
Beth Ann Edwards
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Des Moines, Iowa
Westpres.org
The cut-off date for participation is March 31, 2012.
(Apologies if you are signed up for email notifications and received multiple messages about this post. Something weird happened behind the scenes, but it should be cleaned up now.)
This newsletter is distributed in PDF format. Click here to view.
Download registration form for Arkansas State Festival, to be held in February 2012.
What: The Mid-Winter 2012 Baton Rouge Area Handbell Workshop
When: Saturday, January 28, 2012 — 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
(setup 8:30 a.m.)
Where: Plains Presbyterian Church, 22929 Old Scenic Highway, Zachary LA 70791
We will read and play the newest music available for handbell choirs. Nothing is more exciting for ringers than to play with and learn from other ringers! Bring your bells, chimes, tables (unless you arrange to rent ours), pads, gloves, mallets, table covers, and music binders. Babysitting services are not available.
Music selections will be available for purchase at the end of the day at a 20% discount, if purchased on site.
The Red River Ringers, directed by Mary Caldwell, will be featured performers.
Registration: Print and send this form along with a check to the address provided. You will receive confirmation of your registration via email. Please provide your email address on the registration form and the best phone number to reach you. The registration deadline is January 13, 2012.
Questions: contact Tom Jones at (225) 202-5839 or email thomasj9@bellsouth.net.
As of October 1, the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers is now doing business as Handbell Musicians of America (“The Guild” for short). Their updated website is live, and they hope the new name will prove to be more accessible to the next generation of ringers.
The Guild’s New Initiatives campaign extends to the various regions as well. In the future, you will always be able to find us by visiting http://area6.handbellmusicians.org. Right now that link points to our old site, but we hope to update that soon. We also expect to receive a new Area 6 logo incorporating elements of the new brand.
It being October of an odd-numbered year, our newest slate of officers is now in effect, and our Officers page has been updated to reflect this. The next regional board meeting is happening in Birmingham on October 21, and there should be more news to report coming out of that meeting.
Our Events page has also been updated with information from the most recent Alabama newsletter. If you know of any other events coming up as we enter the busy holiday season, please send in the information so we can spread the word!
The Central Alabama Handbell Festival will be returning to Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church in Bessemer, AL on Friday Feb 24 and Saturday Feb 25, 2012. Click here for more information, including registration details.
Other states are organizing similar festivals for the coming year – watch this site for details!
Update: here is the full Alabama newsletter (PDF format).
Our newly elected board members are: Bob Bidewell, Chair-Elect; Kathy Milstead, Secretary; and Ruth Howald has been re-elected as Treasurer. The new positions will take effect in October.
October is also the target date for AGEHR to finish the transition to the new organization name Handbell Musicians of America. If you attended Smoky Mountain Ring, you had the opportunity to hear Lee Afdahl, the incoming national president of the Guild, explain the reasoning behind this change; the short version is that it reduces the potential for confusion and is more inclusive. The New Initiatives blog is a good source of information from the national board concerning these changes.
The next Area 6 regional festival will take place at the First Presbyterian Church of Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 2013. In June of 2012, Area 6 will host two summer seminars — one in Vicksburg MS and one in Birmingham AL. Look for more information and registration forms in the coming months on this website.
Thanks again to everyone who helped make Smoky Mountain Ring a success!
This newsletter is distributed in PDF format. Click here to view.
For more information, including registration forms for the Summer Handbell Seminar (in August) and/or AdventuRing (in November), please contact the Arkansas State Chair, Evy Lamb, at evy17@juno.com.
Ballots have just been mailed to Area 6 members to elect new board members for the 2011-2013 term. There are candidates for three positions: Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer. Results will be announced at our regional festival in Gatlinburg next month.
Bob Bidewell, a native of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, is the Director of Music and Organist at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. At St. Paul, he directs the Chancel Choir, the St. Paul Ringers and the Joyful Noise Children’s Choir. He oversees the church concert series — St. Paul Casual Concerts.
He has worked in the field of church music for over 30 years and serves as Past Chair/CHIME Chair of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers. He is a member of the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and serves as Secretary for the Arkansas Chapter of the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts. Bob holds a Masters Degree in Music Education from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
Bob has twice attended the AGEHR Master Class in Conducting with Dr. Bill Payn and served as clinician for the Westminster Ringers Handbell Seminar in Maryland (2004) and the Illinois-Great River Handbell Workshop in Springfield, Illinois (2011).
Tommy Steadman, a native of Morton, MS, is the Director of Music Ministry at First United Methodist Church, Clinton, MS. He has worked in the field of church music for over 32 years. He has 25 years of experience leading handbell choirs. He is currently leading four bell choirs of all ages and skill levels. Tommy obtained his Master of Music Education Degree from MS College. He is Past Mississippi State Chair of Area 6, AGEHR. He has participated in and taken many handbell choirs to various workshops. Tommy has also served as a guest clinician at various handbell workshops.
Kathy Milstead attended Northeast Louisiana University (now known as ULM) on a 4 year vocal grant singing with the University Chorale under the direction of Dr. Edward Deckard. She graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems, and has spent the past 20 plus years working for CenturyLink, a national telecommunications provider located in Monroe, Louisiana. Music, in one form or another, has always been a part of her life, but she fell in love with handbells when she started ringing in high school. Kathy is currently the volunteer handbell director for the Selah Ringers of First Baptist Church of Calhoun, Louisiana, and has served as the church’s volunteer Children’s Choir Director as well. When she is not busy directing, she rings with the Red River Ringers, an advanced community handbell ensemble, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Kathy rings solos and duets.
Fred Graham is the music director and organist at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has been a handbell ringer since high school, and directs the Parish Handbell Choir at Holy Souls. He received the Master of Sacred Music Degree from Boston University and the Bachelor of Music Degree in Sacred Music from Centenary College of Louisiana.
Ruth Howald has rung handbells with choirs in Minnesota, Maryland, California and now Alabama, including the Westminster Ringers (Maryland) and Embellishments (Alabama) community choirs. She also previously directed at Glyndon United Methodist. She currently rings with the Riverchase UMC Celebration Ringers and Chancel Ringers. She is also a solo ringer, and does duets with her husband as well. Ruth is the current Area 6 Treasurer.
Adam Philley is Director of Music Ministries at Asbury United Methodist Church, Bossier City, LA, since June, 2008. He holds a Bachelors of Music in Sacred Music from Centenary College, Shreveport, LA, where he studied handbells with Mary Caldwell. He was a featured soloist and conductor of the Centenary College Choir and the Centenary Camerata and Chorale performing all over the world including Carnegie Hall, Switzerland, Germany, France, Ireland, England and Wales. Adam is very active in the community holding a staff position with the Shreveport Little Theatre Academy, playing in the Red River Ringers, singing in the Shreveport Chamber Singers and participating in many community theater productions.
Smoky Mountain Ring is happening June 9 – 11, 2011.
We will be in Gatlinburg, Tennessee at the Glenstone Lodge.
Early bird registration ends April 15!
Click here to register for Smoky Mountain Ring!
