Feature
The Power of What We Do
Reflecting on a Special National Seminar Concert
If you were able to attend National Seminar in Glendale this year, you were one of the 250+ people who experienced many special moments, including the feeling that the event became its own family reunion of sorts.
Tips & Tools
In this and the next issue, we offer a number of exercises used in a National Seminar class by Kathleen Wissinger to help develop various ringing techniques. Practice them at different tempos and dynamic levels, including crescendos and decrescendos.
Chiming In
The past nearly two years has certainly changed the world—in many ways negatively, but positively in others. HMA and the handbell community have certainly seen a good deal of change. Some things will likely return to what we are used to, but many changes, I think, we will find are permanent.
From the President's Pen
Reunited, and It Feels So Good
After nearly two years apart, many of us gathered as a community in Glendale, Arizona for this year’s National Seminar. As it is each year, Seminar is the best kind of family reunion, made all the more special by our prolonged time apart.
Executive Notes
Every July, Handbell Musicians of America holds its annual National Seminar, a week of concerts, instruction, exhibits, new ideas, celebration, and community. While Seminar has become a staple for many as they begin to think about fall programming, it is also a time when attendees gather to reconnect with their friends and build community.
Membership Matters
There is something refreshing about a repeat. It is just one of those things that makes you feel in control. You already know the material, expectation, and how to navigate the music. Often, we put our favorite songs on an endless repeat. Every time it plays again, we find something new and exciting that makes [...]
Community Connections
The Show Goes On
How to Pull Off a Four-City Tour in Uncertain COVID Times
The short story is: Sonos Handbell Ensemble began the seven-day, 1752 mile, four-city tour, From Steeple to Steppe on July 9th at Grace Lutheran Church in Palo Alto, California, and ended with a performance at the Handbell Musicians of America National Seminar on July 15th in Glendale, Arizona. How it all happened is a much [...]
Handbells in Worship
To Gig or Not to Gig
From Church Choir to Concert Setting
COVID won’t last forever, and when opportunities open up again, your church handbell choir just might receive an invitation to perform a concert. Are you concert-ready? There’s so much to consider: music selection, your choir’s abilities and interests, how to prepare, equipment, venue, and more!
Handbells in Education
Who Can “Grant” Your Wishes?
Special grant helps a school discover ringing amid continuing pandemic
I teach at Frelinghuysen Middle School in Morristown, New Jersey. Like many other teachers during the Spring of 2020, I had spent every night since March 13th adapting lesson plans for a virtual world. I was teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade choir online, but I was also trying to teach 11-, 12-, and 13-year-olds [...]
Handbell Musicians Roundtable
I invited folks to contribute to a “free for all” column, to share what is currently on their minds. Not surprisingly, COVID is still on the minds of many as the new fall schedule kicks off. The good news is that musicians are finding ways to rise above the challenges of the pandemic. Thank you [...]
