Karen Van Wert, a.k.a. KVW, has been an active member of Handbell Musicians of America for 35 years. As a new handbell musician, she encouraged her director and fellow handbell musicians to attend Area 7 events. Inspired by classes and performances, she became a duet handbell musician, which quickly led to solo ringing and then bell tree ringing. She has shared her passion for handbells and bell trees with many congregations in the Midwest, Arizona, and Germany.
With an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a passion for sharing what she has learned, Karen has taught over 20 topics at Area, National, and International events, in addition to providing personal coaching for soloists and ensembles. Karen received accreditation to teach HMA Ring Techniques Certification Classes in the first accreditation class. She has also created educational videos and documentation available on her LV2RING.weebly.com website.
Karen served on the Area 7 board from 2011–2020, including a term as Chair. During this time, she served as local liaison for The Big Ring and College Ring-In 2017. She introduced the concept of Bells and Beer Choir, including arranging the Beer Choir Hymnal Handbell Supplement. As Chair, she also worked with the Area 7 board to return the books to profitability following six years of losses. Most recently, she created and launched the updated Area 7 website.
Bell tree education and ringing have been a focus for Karen in recent years. Her goal of lowering the bar of entry has allowed her to introduce bell trees to countless handbell musicians at home and abroad. She founded and hosted Into the Forest – Exploring Among the Trees in 2019 and 2023 before turning the event over to Handbell Musicians of America. Exploring, sharing, and growing this art form have been the mainstay goals of this successful event.