Chiming In
From a Vintage Overtones
Interesting Article About a Town Bell Ringer
Ipswich, Mass., Oct. 5 (AP)—Mrs. Mariet Moffatt has been appointed the first lady bell ringer in the 332-year history of Ipswich. And she isn’t even a native New Englander.
Executive Notes
Lighting Up Your Brain with Music
When playing handbells, you may not be thinking of the many ways your brain is lighting up, but it is! One of the ways researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have studied the effects of playing music on the brain is by having musicians improvise while within an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) machine. They found [...]
Membership Matters
My current home group, the Penobscot Bay Ringers (PBR), just finished up a busy ringing year with our spring concert weekend.
From the President's Pen
A Once In a Lifetime experience at the the 21st International Handbell Symposium in Hamamatsu, Japan
Feature
Arnold B. Sherman, a longtime member of Handbell Musicians of America and a celebrated composer and conductor, passed away on May 20, 2024. With more than 400 published works, primarily for handbells, he was one of the most prolific composers for the instrument.
Solo, Ensemble, Bell Tree Enthusiasts
It’s a Natural!
Bell Tree Ringing with Children
There are many ways to involve youth with handbell ringing. Some full children’s ensembles play with 2-3 octaves of bells or chimes, but smaller groups of four to eight can start with chording sing-a-long melodies, or learning to change ring in patterns. All of those will interest and excite curious minds.
Community Connections
Rolling Repertoire
Repeating Titles in Various Concert Programs Without Them Sounding Like Repeats
Many community ensembles have settled into the predictable routine of offering a Christmas concert and a Spring concert. Often, these singular concerts are performed several times each season at different locations over the course of a couple of weekends. For the most part, we have trained our audiences to expect to see us only twice [...]
Handbells in Worship
Recently, a question in the Handbell People group on Facebook asked if anyone had experience directing in two churches and if they would recommend it. As I thought about this, I realized my answer would be too long to include there.
Music Offering
As we are in the midst of a milestone year for HMA, here is another vintage piece published in the May 1968 issue of Overtones. It is a lively, yet accessible arrangement of Louis-Claude Daquin’s Baroque piece Rigaudon.
Buyers' Guide
2024-25 Business Members Buyers Guide
Following is a list of our current business members (as of August 1, 2024) along with their contact information. Please patronize them and, along with us, thank them for their support of handbell and handchime ringing and Handbell Musicians of America.
