Area 12 wide (virtual) and National events

October 23, 2025
October 24, 2025
October 25, 2025
October 26, 2025

  • Distinctly Bronze - West

    October 23, 2025 - October 26, 2025 @ 
    Tacoma, WA, USA

    Opportunities for high level ringers to be challenged in massed ringing event.
     
    https://handbellmusicians.org/event/distinctly-bronze-west-2/ 
     
    This is a Handbell Musicians of America event.
     
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  • Distinctly Bronze - West - Final concert

    October 26, 2025 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
    Tacoma, WA, USA

    Final concert from weekend event.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/live/LVpY7iBswEM?si=9jGu8iMRNkcqn35Z
     
    This is a Handbell Musicians of America event.
     
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November 18, 2025

  • 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 Nick Hanson
     

    After receiving his BA in Music with concentration in handbell performance from Concordia University, Irvine, California, Nick began teaching at The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia, in 2006. At Potomac he teaches private handbell lessons and handbell classes to 4th–12th grade students in six handbell ensembles. He has also been the handbell director at Bush Hill Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Virginia, for over 15 years.

    Nick is a sought-after faculty, clinician, and conductor for workshops and events throughout the world, having served in this role nationally in over 20 states, as well as Washington, DC, and internationally in England, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan. He was co-conductor for the Handbell Musicians of America (HMA) All-Star Choir in 2018; and has twice lead HMA's Distinctly Teen ensemble in 2015 and 2023.

    He is a published writer in the national handbell magazine Overtones, has composed and arranged over 100 pieces of handbell music, and is co-host of the podcast Two Tacos High: A Handbell Podcast.

    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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November 23, 2025

  • 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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January 13, 2026

  • HMA Composer Conversations with Tucker and S. Eithun

    January 13, 2026 @ 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.
      
    The series continues on January 13, 2026 (8:00 PM eastern) with Sondra Tucker and Sandra Eithun,  Registration for HMA members opens TBA.
     
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January 17, 2026

  • Area 12 Board Meeting

    January 17, 2026 @ 12:30 pm - 5:30 pm
    Virtual

    Virtual board meeting. Via Zoom. Contact [email protected] to participate.

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January 23, 2026

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