Join us on December 1, for Our First
Ring-a-Thon on YouTube Live.

On Giving Tuesday, December 1, Handbell Musicians of America will be hosting our first-ever Ring-a-Thon. For six hours, we will take to YouTube Live with a fun lineup of musical performances from solo ringers, collegiate choirs, community choirs, and some of our amazing groups from the past.

Join handbell personalities Michèle Sharik and Michael Glasgow, as they emcee the six-hour event with music, interviews with directors and performers, and generally, add a great deal of fun to this event.  While we rock around the clock, there will be many other opportunities for fun, swag, and giving.

Plan now to join us from 5:00 pm EST to 11 pm EST as we ring the night away….and what would Giving Tuesday be without the chance for you to give?

We hope you’ll enjoy the music and contribute to the ongoing work of HMA!

Set Reminder on YouTube

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Introducing Handbell Commons at National Seminar 2021

Many exhibit options available for vendors, ensembles, areas, and others

Plans are underway for National Seminar 2021, scheduled for July 13-17 at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa in Glendale, Arizona. An exciting part of this event is the new Handbell Commons.  This area will be the hub of all social activities during the event including vendor booths, our annual Silent Auction, nightly Happy Hours, the Welcome Reception, the Gala Banquet, daily grab-n-go breakfast and lunch, and a new Community Plaza, giving individual members and handbell ensembles the opportunity to exhibit at the event.

Learn More & Reserve Space

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Distinctly Bronze East 2021 Canceled

We have made the decision to cancel Distinctly Bronze East 2O21. This decision comes after much deliberation and brainstorming with the committee and New Bern Convention Center staff. It was determined that due to current COVID-19 restrictions and increasing case numbers it is irresponsible for us to go forward.     

We are hopeful that we will be able to return to New Bern in February 2022.

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Video of the Month

Our selection this month is HMA’s Virtual Composition Master Class Showcase Concert. Students in the class had their pieces showcased by Houston Bronze Ensemble along with commentary by the students and instructor Jason Krug.

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Brian’s Music Notes

with Brian Childers

Trinity Fanfare

Alex Guebert
AG35369; Level 2-
3-5 Octaves Bells
Originally Released Spring 2018
Liturgical Season: Trinity Sunday; Ordinary Time

Usage
Trinity Sunday is a perfect day for “Trinity Fanfare.” If your church does not follow the liturgical calendar, do not fear, this piece is appropriate for many seasons and fits with any general or celebratory service or concert. You can hear a recording, preview the music and order it for your bell choir from Lorenz: Order “Trinity Fanfare”

Overview
Composed in ABA format with a repeat, the writing on “Trinity Fanfare” makes this a great composition to challenge young ringers who are ready to step up to an easy level 2 selection. There are a couple of very manageable bell changes for the E6/F6 ringer. All other positions do not require any bell changes. Built on a strong chordal structure, this piece gives ringers opportunities to hone their skills on dynamic shifts and crescendos.

YouTube recordings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drUl0Q-TD0I “Trinity Fanfare” performed on bells

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eemo8ZKO9gc “Trinity Fanfare” performed on chimes

NOTES from Alex

 I wrote “Trinity Fanfare” as a learning piece for a group of junior high students. For many of them, it was the first time playing in church, and I wanted to give them a boost in confidence, so I created a simple chordal structure that would be accessible even for beginners. Four of the students had a year’s worth of experience already; the rest were true beginners. So, I gave the four experienced ones the spots from C6-C7 and made sure those spots had a little more challenge than the rest. Though the piece is marked L2-, all the positions from C4-B5 could be considered L1.

 Assign the four most experienced ringers to C6-C7. Try memorizing, and cycle the repeat as a processional. Use the piece as an exercise to practice matching the handbell stroke during long notes.

Things you need to know about Alex

I was in a handbell group as a junior high student. Then, in high school, our ensemble toured in Germany.  At college at Concordia University Irvine, CA, I got to travel all over the USA and to Hungary and Austria.  I didn’t realize at the time how unusual that was for handbells. I love the percussive nature of bells. I have a percussion background, with a major in percussion performance, but the love of bells was there even before I took any drum lessons.

 My first published piece was an arrangement of “Ah, Holy Jesus” in 2009, when I was 21 years old. In 2016, I had my second piece published: “All Creatures of Our God and King” through Choristers Guild. Since then, I’ve been focusing more strongly on trying to get my work out there.

 I generate ideas at the piano, play them through in my head as I go about the day, go back to the piano to work things out, sketch some things out by hand, and cycle through those… until it’s ready to be inputted into the computer, at which point the process gets finished pretty quickly and usually all in one sitting (if it’s a typical, short-ish piece). I do this at the end of the day, when there are fewer distractions.

 What I love most about composing is the final step, which is going over a finished score and proofreading. I have always enjoyed proofreading papers in school, and this is similar. I love going through every detail of the score and making it look the best it can look. There is just something about looking at a tidy, clean score — it’s delightful!

 At this writing, my wife and I are 5 weeks into the adventure of having a newborn girl! We live in my hometown of Orange, CA, and we love it here. My dad used to be a radio DJ and his side of the family has many musicians.  My mom’s side is wonderfully creative and artsy. I like to think that that combination is why I’m a composer.

 Outside of music, some of my favorite pastimes are bicycling (going on bike trips, carrying camping gear, several days long, etc.), playing card games (especially complex ones) and video games (when there’s time!), but most free time is spent planning and creating musical elements. We have two cats who are jealous of all the attention our new daughter is getting 🙂My twin brother Christian, also a published composer, is finishing up a PhD in music composition at UCLA.  He recently premiered an impressive 45-min composition for choir, handbells, and harp, based on Walt Whitman poetry.

 I enjoy creating other things besides music.  Recently I created a fantasy-themed card game and created 150 or so cards for the game, designed the layout, printed them all, and test-played it a few times.  (I didn’t create the art, though — I borrowed it from public-domain art I found online — visual arts are not my forte.) It was great fun, though time-consuming. For anyone who is artsy and likes games, I encourage you to try something like this. It’s way more fun than it sounds 🙂

Trinity Sunday is a perfect day for “Trinity Fanfare.” If your church does not follow the liturgical calendar, do not fear, this piece is appropriate for many seasons and fits with any general or celebratory service or concert. You can hear a recording, preview the music and order it for your bell choir from Lorenz: Order “Trinity Fanfare”

See & Hear the Music

Until next month,

Brian Childers
Music Adviser

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