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

To have your event listed in Ringing News and on the area website, please submit your information to Jeremy Springer communications.area9
@handbellmusicians.org.

Concerts in Area 9

William Jewell College Handbell Choir
February 26, 2015 @ 6:45pm
Meadowood Baptist Church
2816 N. Woodcrest Dr., Midwest City, OK

William Jewell College Handbell Choir
February 27, 2015 @ 6:00pm
Shady Oaks Baptist Church
1336 Cavender Dr., Hurst, TX

William Jewell College Handbell Choir
February 28, 2015 @ 7:00pm
First United Methodist Church
13800 E. 106th Street N,, Owasso, OK

William Jewell College Handbell Choir
March 1, 2015 @ 4:00pm
Leawood Baptist Church
8200 State Line Rd. Leawood, KS

Events in Area 9

GDHA Advanced Festival
Clinician: David Harris
February 7, 2015
University Park UMC
4024 Caruth Blvd, Dallas, TX

GDHA Intermediate Festival
Clinician: Stephanie Rhoades
February 21, 2015
University Park UMC
4024 Caruth Blvd, Dallas, TX

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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.

January 2015 Ringing News

Welcome 2015

It hardly seems possible that one year has ended and another one has begun.

My handbell year 2015 has already started with a Houston Bronze board meeting and rehearsal. It will be a busy spring and after a VERY busy Christmas!

Often we think of handbells only as a part of the church service. I would like to lift up other opportunities for handbells to be part of the ‘outside’ world. This is a very personal account of bringing bells to other venues.

As a member of Houston Bronze Ensemble, I have seen handbells brought to unusual places. November began with ringing non-traditional handbell music for a wedding at the Rothko Chapel in Houston. This was an unusual and wonderful location to ring bells and many attending the wedding were introduced to handbells for the first time.

Christmas brought more opportunities. In addition to a traditional concert, this year Houston Bronze ensemble was about town in full force – both the full group and the small ensembles. The ensemble brought handbells once again to a Houston area Christmas festival where the crowds were large and sang along with us as we rang a variety of carols. Bells were invited to a busy market to ring as the shoppers arrived. Another venue was at a Christmas tree farm as families arrived to find the perfect Christmas tree. This year also brought an invitation to ring with a Boys and Girls Club school program which was attended by almost 1000 guests! The choirs were wonderful and the audience loved the addition of bells to the choral program. HBE also rang as a part of the Heritage Society Annual Candlelight Tour in Houston – a new opportunity. One of the small ensembles rang at Zoo Lights! at the Houston Zoo. It was a cold evening but delightful as the audience once again sang along with us and we were treated to the fabulous light display.

One of the most gratifying opportunities was to ring at a special celebration presenting to a wounded soldier a home fully adapted to their special needs involving a program called Helping a Hero. Lee Greenwood was one of the special guests and sang God Bless the USA. It was truly a privilege to be invited and to participate in this amazing celebration.

Perhaps the highlight of the season was the invitation to ring with the Houston Symphony. HBE rang two performances on the Family Concert Series, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. This was an incredible opportunity to bring handbells to the mainstream of the music family.

To wrap up this article, my goal is to open your mind and eyes to the many opportunities to bring handbells to the public. It takes time and effort to reach out and touch your neighbors and teach them the joys of handbells but it is TOTALLY worth every effort. I encourage you to look around your community to see where you can being handbells to your friends and neighbors. Handbells are not just for church anymore!

Ruth Seiwell
Chair, Handbell Musicians of America Area 9

Central Texas Spring Ring 2015!

Your Area 9 Board is excited to announce that Spring Ring is not just in central Texas anymore. On April 18, 2015, Area 9’s Spring Ring will be held in Georgetown, TX; Lubbock, TX; and Oklahoma City, OK. That is right – we are holding three events on the same day!

The 2015 repertoire for all locations will feature a chart topping pop anthem– Let It Go from Disney’s ‘Frozen’ – along with hymndom favorites – Crown Him with Many Crowns and For the Beauty of the Earth.

Central Texas Spring Ring – Georgetown, TX
Oklahoma Spring Ring – Oklahoma City, OK
West Texas Spring Ring – Lubbuck, TX

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

Note from the Communications Chair

Due to circumstances beyond my control, this newsletter has been published late. Please accept my humblest apologies for this delay. Everything is just fine now and back on track for an amazing year!

If you have the writing itch or know someone who would love to submit an article for publication in Ringing News, please let me know! We love to publish articles and stories for what is happening in Area 9.

Jeremy Springer
Communications Chair
Handbell Musicians of America Area 9
communications.area9 @handbellmusicians.org.