Area 9 Hosted Events

Central Texas Spring Ring 2015
April 18, 2015
San Gabriel Presbyterian
Georgetown, TX
Ruth Seiwell, Guest Clinician

Oklahoma Spring Ring 2015
April 18, 2015
Chapel Hill United Methodist Church
Oklahoma City, OK
Venita MacGorman, Guest Clinician

West Texas Spring Ring 2015
April 18, 2015
St. John’s United Methodist Church
Lubbock, Texas
Adam Samuels, Guest Clinician

Summit 2016 - The Ocean Journey
June 26 to July 3, 2016
Galveston, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica
Stephanie Rhodes, Clinician

To have your event listed in Ringing News and on the Area’s website, please submit your information to Jeremy Springer, Social Media/Communications communications.area9 @handbellmusicians.org.

Concerts in Area 9

Houston Bronze presents “JOURNEY”
Saturday, April 25, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
University Baptist Church
16106 Middlebook Dr., Houston, TX

Houston Bronze presents “JOURNEY”
Sunday, April 26, 2015 @ 4:00 pm
Trinity Lutheran Church
5201 Spring Cypress Rd., Klein, TX

Houston Bronze presents “JOURNEY”
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Location to be announced

Houston Bronze presents “JOURNEY”
Saturday, July 18, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
Hilton Anatole
Dallas, TX

Getting Social

Come Ring It On! Led by clinicians Stephanie Rhoades and Ed Rollins, this festival will be informative, entertaining and fun for choirs young and old. Classes include handbell theater, handbells in worship, and an all-star choir track, as well as covering ringing techniques and offering reading sessions of wonderful music.

Our 2015 location will be St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee – about one hour south of Nashville.

Advertise in
Ringing News

Advertising in Area 9 has never been easier! With full-color, digital ads that link directly to your web site, you can reach handbell enthusiasts, ringers, and directors right in their e-mail inbox.

With ad costs starting as low as $10 per issue, give your products and services a boost with Ringing News digital advertising! For ad dimensions, pricing, due dates, and more, please visit area9.handbellmusicians.org today.

March 2015 Ringing News

Getting Listed

Several people have been asking how the events and concerts seen here in Ringing News and on the Area’s web site get listed. There is one easy answer for that question:

The organizer submitted the information via the Area 9 website at area9.handbellmusicians.org/events/get-listed/

Events that are submitted via the Area’s website prior to the deadlines for our newsletter also get listed in Ringing News based on the delivery date of the newsletter and the event/concert date.

We do make every effort to list events and concerts that are submitted to through the national office, but these concerts may not been seen by our Area editors in a timely manner.

We love letting others in Area 9 know of every event and concert, but we can’t do it alone. If you have an event or concert that is coming up soon, please visit the Area’s website so you can get listed right away.

Jeremy Springer
Social Media/Communications
Handbell Musicians of America Area 9

Ahoy, Area 9! Information is coming soon!

Putting Yourself Out There
By Dellinda Ebeling

Church handbell choirs are unique in that their primary function is to be a part of the congregation’s worship experience, but there are so many ways in which that can be accomplished. It can be incredibly exciting too. In January 2013, I suddenly became a no-one-else-wants-to-do-it-but-I’ve-never-directed-anything-before director, and the first thing I did was Google “handbells.” I found Handbell Musicians of America, read about National Seminar, and decided immediately I wanted to go — who wouldn’t want to go to beautiful Portland, Oregon. I started seeing handbells all over Facebook and “liked” every group I found. I found other groups online where tough questions are debated. People laughed at me when I told them that in spite of ringing for at least fifteen years that I did not know there was anything beyond our little church bell choir and the Raleigh Ringers who I had seen on PBS one time. Wow! What an amazing world opened up to me! My love for all things bells and the people who ring and write for them has exploded. How I wish I had known years ago that directing would be my passion.

So what have I learned in two short years?

Learn more at area9.handbellmusicians.org!

There is still time to register for this fun Area 9 event! With locations all over Area 9 – Oklahoma City, Houston, and Lubbock – everyone can join in a fun day of ringing with an amazing guest clinician.

To view all of the event details and registration info about the Spring Ring closest to you, click on the location below.

Central Oklahoma Spring Ring – Oklahoma City, OK
Venita MacGorman, Guest Clinician
West Texas Spring Ring – Lubbock, TX
Adam Samuels, Guest Clinician
Central Texas Spring Ring – Georgetown, TX
Ruth Seiwell, Guest Clinician

New App Lets You Play Bells With Your Phone
by Derek Nance

JamBells was created during a 48-hour hackathon, an event where developers were given only 2 days to create a new product from scratch. According to Curt Arledge, a User Experience Designer and part of the JamBells design team, "The idea for a cooperative handbell app came from one of our Data & Analytics guys, Mitch Daniels". Some of the members of the team had played bells growing up, and some just remembered seeing bells during their childhood. "I also grew up in a church that had adult and youth handbell choirs, and while I never actually played, I was familiar with the concept and always thought the crisp white gloves were cool", Arledge commented.

There are currently 4 songs in the program, ranging from an easy version of "Jingle Bells" to a "crazy hard" version of "Shake It Off". When performing, you can ring your bell by either tapping the screen or moving your phone like a handbell.

Read more and learn how to get your jam on at handbellbrothers.com.

The Area 9 board is here to serve you. Please contact any of the Area 9 board members for the 2014-2016 board members with any ideas, suggestions, questions or concerns.

Chair – Ruth Seiwell
Chair Elect – Wilson Van Tine
Treasurer – Marci Corey
Secretary – Patty Highland
Past Chair – Michelle Tejada
Financial Advisor – Wilson Van Tine
Membership – Stevie Berryman
Education – Venita Gorman
Publications – Jeremy Springer
Social Media/Communications – Jeremy Springer
Oklahoma Representative - Paula Barnes
Texas Representative - Adam Samuels
Texas Representative - Delinda Ebeling

Our National Organization

JULY 15-18 — Dallas, TX