Read the latest issue of the Area 12 newsletter here.
Issue includes updates from the September Board Meeting and more information on Neon City Rhythms and other events upcoming.
Calendar
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Bells of Blessing Festival and Benefit Concert
November 2, 2025 @ 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Trinity United Presbyterian Church, Telle Center 1600 Carver Rd, Modesto CA 95350We are pleased to invite you and your ringers to our Bells of Blessing Handbell Festival on November 2, 2025! This event began in 2011 and has taken place each year with the exception of 2020 and 2021 (during the pandemic) and also last year, when the Opus Handbell Ensemble, our headliner bell choir, changed directors with Rich Colla's retirement after 29 years. We are excited to once again plan this meaningful afternoon of handbell music.
In addition to Bells of Blessing being a time for us to ring together and to meet some new ringers and directors, we have the opportunity to raise funds to benefit the work of The Salvation Army, Modesto. TSA leadership provides personnel to assist us during the afternoon and during the concert will offer a brief video presentation about their vital work.
The festival format will be much as it has been in previous years. We encourage each participating group to perform a piece of their choice. As always, if you'd like your ensemble to ring a separate piece but are short a person or two, we will have ringers available who would be happy to fill in.
We'll conclude the concert with the massed ringing of three selections.
4:00pm Concert
Free & open to the public; offering will be taken for TSA
https://opushandbell.org/
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HMA Composer Conversations with Hansen and Buckwalter
November 18, 2025 @ 5:00 pm - 6:15 pm
Handbell Musicians of America is launching a new educational series with composers for our members. "Composer Conversations" are 75-minute sessions with two guest speakers in a moderated discussion. Attendees will hear from composers on a variety of topics, including their journey from the start of a piece to its publication, and their artistic motivation when starting a new composition. They will also share their experiences with how to approach publishers, and offer insight into the process once a piece is going to be published. Sessions will include time for Q&A with attendees.
Composer Conversations launches on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at 8:00 PM eastern with Nick Hanson and Karen Lakey Buckwalter. Registration for HMA members now open at https://handbellmusicians.org/event/composer-conversation/
About Karen Lakey Buckwalter
Karen is a distinguished organist, pianist, and composer, is Associate Minister of Music at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, in Hanover, PA. She currently directs the handbell program, coordinates the Saturday contemporary worship and is privileged to play a 231 rank Austin organ (14,341 pipes), the 5th largest church organ in the world. Karen is a 1974 graduate of Westminster Choir College, where she earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree, and a 1977 graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied organ with Mr. John Weaver and earned the prestigious Artists Diploma in Organ Performance.
Internationally known in the field of handbell composition, she composed her first published work, Danza, in 1982. Known for her works such as Soliloquy for Bells, In the Bleak Midwinter, and Nocturne in A Minor, she now has over 100 handbell/choral compositions in print. Her passion is advancing musicality in all levels of ringing and she is especially known for her clear and concise conducting style.
Karen is sought after as a handbell conductor/clinician for workshops and bell festivals throughout the US. Her works have been recorded in the United States and Japan and they are frequently selected at area and national handbell conferences throughout the country.
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HMA ThanksRinging!
November 23, 2025 @ 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
On Sunday, November 23, we are presenting a special online event from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM (eastern) entitled ThanksRinging! This live event, where we will give thanks and show appreciation to those who have brought our art form to where it is today, will include interviews, handbell performances, and opportunities for those watching to win prizes. Performances will be pre-recorded, as will some interviews. Our hosts are Michèle Sharik and Michael Glasgow, and our line-up of interviews (as of today - more to come!) are Martha Lynn Thompson, John Benke, William Payn, Nancy Cappel, Venita MacGorman, Griff Gall, Christine Anderson, Linda Krantz, Cathy Taylor, David Harris, and the band OK Go. ThanksRinging is a free event that will be hosted on our YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r-v7dEFCJI
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San Clemente Great Christmas Ring with South County Community Handbell Choir and friends
November 29, 2025 @ 5:15 pm - 6:00 pm
Outlets at San Clemente (101 W Avenida Vista Hermosa, San Clemente, 92672)Come and hear upwards of 30 local handbell musicians ringing your favorite Christmas tunes next to the Christmas Tree at the Outlets of San Clemente. This is our 10th year hosting this event. This event is free to the public. If you are a local handbell musician and would like to join us, check out the events page and/or contact us. We would love to have you. More details can be found at https://www.schandbell.org/events.html .
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