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Area 9 Hosted Events

Summit 2016 - The Ocean Journey
June 26 to July 3, 2016
Galveston, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica
Stephanie Rhodes, Clinician


To have your event listed in Ringing News and on the Area’s website, please submit your information to Jeremy Springer, Social Media/Communications communications.area9 @handbellmusicians.org.


Concerts in Area 9

Bayou City Bells
Tuesday, May 12, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
West University United Methodist Church
3611 University Blvd., Houston, TX

Concert Bells of Fort Worth
Saturday, May 16, 2015 @ 2:30 pm
Resurrection Lutheran (Plano)
919 Independence Pkwy, Plano, TX

Concert Bells of Fort Worth
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 @ 7:00 pm
Lewisville Public Library
1197 West Main Street, Lewisville, TX

Austin Handbell Ensemble
Saturday, June 6, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
Faith Lutheran Church
4010 Williams Dr. Georgetown, TX

Austin Handbell Ensemble
Saturday, June 13, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
First Baptist Church
901 Trinity St, Austin TX

Houston Bronze presents
Saturday, July 11, 2015
University of St. Thomas – Cullen Hall
4001 Mt. Vernon, Houston, TX

Concert Bells of Fort Worth
Friday, July 17, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
Hyatt Regency DFW | Dallas, TX

Houston Bronze
Saturday, July 18, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
Hyatt Regency DFW | Dallas, TX


Getting Social


Come Ring It On! Led by clinicians Stephanie Rhoades and Ed Rollins, this festival will be informative, entertaining and fun for choirs young and old. Classes include handbell theater, handbells in worship, and an all-star choir track, as well as covering ringing techniques and offering reading sessions of wonderful music.

Our 2015 location will be St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee – about one hour south of Nashville.





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May 2015 Ringing News

New Events Coming to Area 9!

We are always excited to announce new events that will be coming to Oklahoma and Texas. We have some very fun events happening all across Area 9 later this year.

Area 9 will be hosting several new events called Bell Boot Camp. This will be a great event for first time ringers to those who have years of experience. The Boot Camps will be held in September so everyone can brush up on and learn some new ringing skills for the fall and winter seasons. Look for more details on the Area 9 website and in the next edition of Ringing News.

September will be a busy month for bells all across the nation too. An exciting new event produced by the national office and hosted by each Area will be announced very shortly. One thing you can do to help us here in Area 9 prepare is let us know of any handbell or handchime sets that aren’t being used. These bells or chimes can be in churches, schools, homes, community rooms….anywhere! If you do know of any unused sets, please email Ruth Seiwell so we can make sure these folks are part of this new exciting event!

Area 9 is also working on finalizing the details of the highly anticipated Summit 2016 cruise. Make sure to keep checking the Area 9 website and Ringing News so you don’t miss the boat.


Ahoy, Area 9! Information is coming soon!


Area 9 Spring Rings - A Review
By Paula Barnes

Area 9 made history on Saturday, April 18, 2015! Spring Rings were held simultaneously in central Texas, west Texas, and Oklahoma. Central Texas Spring Ring has been an annual event for some years, so the idea to try it in other locations on the same day using the same music was a step in faith. With more than 50 registrants in each location, it seems evident that ringers ARE interested in coming together to ring! Attendants at all three were excited about continuing this in coming years.

The Area 9 Board supplied the clinicians. Ruth Seiwell, Adam Samuels, and Venita MacGorman provided excellent direction for the groups as they shared their expertise and prepared for the massed concerts. In Oklahoma, Venita presented handbell-isms throughout the day and asked for more to add to her collection. This was a great way to relax the ringers and also emphasized a point now and then.

The music, a nice combination of sacred and secular, provided a variety of bell techniques and rhythms to keep everyone challenged. A moving arrangement of Crown Him with Many Crowns by Kirtsy Michell kept the choirs working on having the correct bell in the correct hand. Mallets, mallets, and all mallets took center stage on For the Beauty of the Earth arranged by Valerie W. Stephenson. In Kevin McChesney’s arrangement of Let It Go from Disney’s FROZEN, the focus was on making it sing.

That is what it is all about, right? Handbell musicians enjoying the process of working on the parts that make bells sound so terrific with the final performance in mind. Attendance at the concerts was good to great with overflow seating at Central Texas! Most certainly, as these events become more known, the attendance will grow.

At each of the locations excitement was generated about Area 9’s Summit 2016 CRUISE! Area 9 board members wore t- shirts and the rooms were a-buzz with questions and comments about ringing handbells on a cruise, especially from land locked Oklahoma! Keep watching for more details and registration coming soon.

A Saturday full of music in which history was made, an enthusiastic response to all three Spring Ring events, and Summit 2016 Cruise announced equals a triple play! Wink, Wink. To paraphrase one of the handbell-isms from Venita that might apply to these events… may we all “ring and create music far greater than any mistake that is made”. AMEN!

To see some all of the amazing photos from this year’s Spring Rings, click over to Facebook.


Greetings from Area 9!

Serving as Chair of any board of directors brings challenges – both those expected and some surprises. I have been blessed with an active and energized board with which to work. We come from multiple areas of Texas and Oklahoma. I would like you to meet them. They represent many churches as well as several community/professional ensembles including Tulsa Festival Ringers, Oklahoma City Handbell Ensemble, Concert Bells of Fort Worth, and Houston Bronze Ensemble. In addition to ringing and directing handbells, they each bring unique occupations and skills to the Area 9 Board.

Your Chair (that’s me!) lives and works in Lake Jackson, TX, and work as the practice manager for Parking Way Pediatrics. Michelle Tejada is Past Chair, and she lives in Floresville, TX. Michelle works as an audiologist in San Antonio. Wilson Van Tine, Chair-Elect/Financial Consultant, lives in Houston, TX, and is the Director of Audit Services for Phillips 66. Patty Highland, Secretary, is from the Austin, TX, area and is the Director of Music Ministries at Lake Travis United Methodist Church. Marci Corey, Treasurer, is from Norman, OK, and is working as the program manager for an educational robotics company as well as Director of Music Ministries at Piedmont First United Methodist Church. Kari Daelke is from the Dallas, TX, area. On the Area 9 board she is our invaluable print media expert and publications creator; in her real life job, she is a graphic designer/pre-press manager at Rapid Reprographics. Jeremy Springer lives in Oklahoma City, OK, and serves as our communications and social media guru. He owns a payroll processing and human resource consulting company helping employers and government agencies across Oklahoma, Colorado, New York, Arkansas and Texas; he also does non-profit bookkeeping for many Oklahoma charities. Adam Samuels from Abilene, TX, is one of our West Texas Representatives and is the Director of Music at St. Paul UMC Abilene. Another West Texas Representative is Dellinda Ebeling who lives in Lubbock, TX. She is an attorney specializing in child protections cases. Paula Barnes lives in Bartlesville, OK, and enjoys her position as program coordinator at MUTUAL Girls Club in Bartlesville. Venita MacGorman is the Education Chair for the board. She lives in Norman, OK, and is the director of music ministries at St. Stephen’s UMC in Norman, OK.

The Area 9 Board is very diverse and can answer questions and add insight on many levels. This Board is very accessible to you – you only have to make contact! Their contact info is in every issues of Ringing News and is always available on the Area 9 website.

Ruth Seiwell
Area 9 Chair


Chime Loan Program Open

The Area 9 Chime Loan Program was established in 2003 to promote the use of handchimes and handbells in Oklahoma and Texas educational settings. In honor of the Guild’s 50th anniversary, one three-octave set of Malmark handchimes was purchased. Since that time, we have added a second set of three-octave Malmark chimes for use in this program.

Any organization within Area 9 is eligible to apply for the Chime Loan Program regardless of membership status. Handchimes will be loaned only once to a particular organization except in extenuating circumstances. The loan program is for one school year. Applications for use in summer programs may also be considered.

Applications will be submitted to the Area 9 Education Coordinator – Venita MacGorman – by July 15, 2015.

Visit area9.handbellmusicians.org for complete details and a downloadable application!


The Area 9 board is here to serve you. Please contact any of the 2014-2016 Area 9 board members with ideas, suggestions, questions or concerns.

Chair – Ruth Seiwell
Chair Elect – Wilson Van Tine
Treasurer – Marci Corey
Secretary – Patty Highland
Past Chair – Michelle Tejada
Financial Advisor – Wilson Van Tine
Education – Venita Gorman
Publications – Kari Daelke
Social Media/Communications – Jeremy Springer
Oklahoma Representative - Paula Barnes
Texas Representative - Adam Samuels
Texas Representative - Delinda Ebeling
Membership – Vacant


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JULY 15-19 — Dallas, TX

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