2026 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BRONZE VISION AND SPRING RING
with BARBARA MEINKE
Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2, 2026
St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 1450 South Melrose Dr., Oceanside, CA 92056
A Handbell Musicians of America Sponsored Event
It’s time for the 2026 Southern California Spring Ring! Our festival this year will again be in beautiful Oceanside, in San Diego County, at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Our site hosts, Douglas Lynn and the Tower Bells, are looking forward to seeing all of you there once again, with Barbara Meinke returning as our clinician this year and she has picked some GREAT music!
We are offering Bronze Vision as well as massed ringing. You have two options to choose from:
- OPTION 1 – Bronze Vision and Massed Ringing: Are you a handbell addict? Do you like to be challenged? If you answered YES to either of these questions, then Bronze Vision is for YOU! This option features four hours of intense ringing – something all you handbell addicts will love! Barbara will work to bring out all the music that’s in these “meaty” pieces and in YOU, all the while keeping it lively and fun for everyone. The Bronze Vision group will present two pieces at the Saturday afternoon concert. Expect to work hard, but expect to go home with a BIG SMILE on your face! Rehearsals are Friday night 7:00-9:00 and Saturday morning 8:30-10:00. Massed ringing begins at 10:30 on Saturday morning. Concert is at 5:30. The concert is free and open to the public. (Free Will Offering – FWO)
- OPTION 2 – Massed Ringing only: Just what it says on the tin. Massed ringing on Saturday, beginning at 10:30 AM. Concert is at 5:30. The concert is free and open to the public. (FWO)
Come as a choir or an individual ringer, bringing your own bells and music. If any groups or individual ringers cannot bring their own bells, please contact me at [email protected] and I will see what I can do to help. If desired, individual ringers may be added to incomplete groups.
Our hosts will again have a sandwich lunch available for Spring Ring attendees for a small fee added to registration. If you choose not to take advantage of this opportunity, there is plenty of space on campus to eat if you bring your own lunch, or there are a few restaurants not far from the church. If you choose to go to a restaurant, we recommend googling one and placing your order in advance since we have only 30 minutes for lunch!
Your registration will be confirmed by email shortly after it is received. Walk-in registrants are welcome at the door (at full registration price, plus a $5 surcharge), as long as we have room. Early registration helps our planning, so please register as soon as possible! All groups, no matter their skill level, are encouraged to consider playing a solo piece during the concert. However, there will be a limit of FOUR (4) solo pieces this year (first come, first served!). The concert will last about 90 minutes.
DISCOUNTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION, GUILD MEMBERS, AND YOUTH!! DETAILS ARE ON THE REGISTRATION PAGE.
EVENT SCHEDULE
| DAY | TIME | ACTIVITY |
| FRIDAY | 7:00-9:00 | · Bronze Vision Rehearsal |
| SATURDAY | 8:30-10:00 | · Bronze Vision Rehearsal |
| 10:00-10:30 | · Load in and set up for massed ringing | |
| 10:30-12:30 | · Massed Rehearsal, with short breaks | |
| 12:30-1:00 | · Lunch | |
| 1:00-3:30 | · Massed Rehearsal, with short breaks | |
| 3:30-4:00 |
· Break · Solo rehearsals |
|
| 4:00-5:00 | · Concert run-through with logistics | |
| 5:00-5:30 | · Personal concert prep | |
| 5:30-7:00 | · Concert – Free & open to the public! (an offering will be accepted) |
REPERTOIRE
Please purchase and prepare the music in advance. Barbara will work on the interpretation of the music, not the assignments or working out the piece.
Although there are four pieces on the massed ringing repertoire list, ensembles and/or individuals may pick and choose those pieces they wish to prepare and perform with the massed group for the final concert.
Massed pieces:
- Light of Peace – Veronica Bigham and Derek K. Hakes, Level 3; 3-6 octaves, From the Top Music: 20178
- A Simple Dance– Michael Glasgow, Level 2+; Choristers Guild:
2-3 octave version: CBG637
3-5 octave version: CBG638
- Thy presence, My Light – Sandra Eithun Level 3-; 3-5 octaves, Optional 3 octaves of chimes; Beckenhorst Press HB820
- Joyful Joyful, We Adore Thee – Phoebe Yeung Level 2+; 3-5 octaves; JW Pepper ID: 11666779
Bronze Vision:
- Canticle of Praise – Brenda Austin, Level 3; 3-5 octaves with handchimes, Alfred Handbell 00-45226
- Quietude – Michael J. Glasgow, Level 3-, 3-7 octaves of handbell with optional handchimes; GIA Publications D-8494
MORE DETAILS
Table rental: Tables will be available to rent for $2.50/foot until we “sell out”. We recommend that Choirs bring their own. Foam and covers will NOT be available.
Music exchange: There will be a table where directors may lay out music they no longer use. Feel free to help yourself from this display; it is a free exchange.
Handbell store: We have not had a handbell store at this event for a few years now. I can contact handbell vendors and ask them to send a box of material to sell, but I cannot staff the table myself. If someone (or several someones) would be willing to staff the table before the event and during our breaks, Area 12 will pay for their lunch at the event. Please email me at [email protected] before April 1 if you are willing to help out in this way! Also please let me know if you have something you would like to sell at the store.
Free-will Offering: An offering will be taken at the concert to benefit St. Thomas More’s handbell ministry. Please invite friends & family to the concert – we’d like a big audience!
Snacks and things: During the breaks, there will be an opportunity to munch on goodies. We need your help with this, so please bring some snacks to share. We will provide coffee, tea, and water. This will also be a good time to shop at the handbell store (if we have one), enjoy each other’s company, and ask questions.
ABOUT OUR CLINICIAN
Barbara Meinke, a life-long California girl, holds a BA in Music from Cal State Fullerton and has been directing handbell music at Hope Lutheran Church in Temecula, CA for 31 years. Having rung with Timbré Ensemble and Sonos Handbell Ensemble, she now rings regularly in Distinctly Bronze where she was the selected Associate Conductor for March 2020.
A conductor and teacher in her heart and soul, Barbara has performed, taught handbell ringing and musicianship classes, and inspired massed ringers at past HMA National Seminars and handbell events all over the United States and in Germany, including serving as the Advanced Handbell Director for PAM’s Conference on Music and Worship in Montreat, NC in 2016, and as conductor for Area 12 Ringers Conference in 2024. She loves her newest role as Nana and enjoys square dancing, cooking and entertaining, crafting, and traveling. Barbara brings enthusiasm, energy, and superb musicianship to the stage, classroom and podium.
This event is sponsored by Area 12 of Handbell Musicians of America.
As such, there are certain policies we must follow:
The Guild is committed to upholding the copyright laws of the United States and protecting the rights of our publishers, arrangers, and composers. Each performance folder must have legally purchased copies of the music used at this event. Photocopied music will not be permitted, except with written authorization from the copyright holder. Your paid registration certifies that you will purchase AND WILL BRING published copies of all copyrighted music used by you and/or your group during the event.
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If you wish to use a tablet computer to hold your music in place of standard paper copies on a music stand or in a binder, you must contact the publisher of each piece of music to first obtain permission to convert a purchased piece of music to the format required for the tablet you are using. Copies of the written permission received from publishers must be presented on request from the event organizer or Handbell Musicians of America staff. Permission from a publisher for one piece does not imply permission for other pieces from the same publisher. The title of each piece used in this format must be included in the written permission received. Attendee should also have legally purchased copies of all music with them for verification.
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Finally, membership in the Guild is strongly encouraged. A director or church/school can join for an annual fee of $95 for their entire choir (or a monthly fee of $9). If individual choir members want to receive access to online resources, they can join for a sub-membership of $10/year. There are also membership options for full-time students and retired handbell musicians! Membership in Handbell Musicians of America gives you a monthly copy of Overtones magazine, discount prices for area and national events, access to mentoring programs, and more!
To join, go to http://handbellmusicians.org/membership/join-the-guild