Schedule

Note that the schedule is tentative and subject to change

FRIDAY, JUNE 17

10:00 AM Registration begins; Visit Exhibitors

1:00 – 2:30 PM Massed Ringing

2:30 – 3:00 PM Visit Exhibitors

3:00 – 3:45 PM Class Session 1

  • Bell Tree Basics – Megan Corey/Amy Bowden
  • Reading Session: Not Your Grandmother’s Handbell Music! – Mark Arnold/Patty Highland
  • Conducting – floor, door, wall, ceiling! – Beth Judd

4:00 – 4:45 PM Class Session 2

  • High Bell Hijinks – Megan Corey/Amy Bowden
  • Technique – “Ring to pluck clapper grab” – Beth Judd

5:00 – 6:00 PM Massed Ringing

6:00 – 7:00 PM Group Dinner

7:30 PM Evening Concert

8:30 PM Evening Fun

SATURDAY, JUNE 18

8:00 – 8:45 AM Coffee, Visit Exhibitors

8:45 – 10:00 AM Massed Ringing

10:15 – 11:00 AM Class Session 3

  • Creative Use of Handbells in Worship – Mitchell Eithun
  • Reading Session: These Area a Few of Our Favorite Things: Music for 3-5 Octave Bells – Patty Highland/Dellinda Ebeling

11:15 – 12:00 PM Class Session 4

  • Finding the Musical Line – Who’s Got the Melody? – Sandra Eithun
  • Child’s Play – Venita MacGorman
  • Small Ensemble Masterclass – Mitchell Eithun

12:00 – 12:45 PM Group lunch, Visit Exhibitors

12: 45 – 1:30 PM Noon Concert

1:45 – 2:30 PM Class Session 5

  • Using Your Creative Gifts: Composing and Arranging for Handbells – Greg Pysh
  • Bass-ics and Beyond! – Mark Arnold
  • Small Group, BIG Fun! Music for 2-3 Octave Bells – Sondra Tucker

2:30 – 3:00 PM Visit Exhibitors

3:00 – 4:00 PM Massed Ringing

4:15 PM Final Concert

5:00 PM Breakdown/Clean-up/Departure

Class Descriptions

Bell Tree Basics, Amy Bowden, Megan Corey. We will be introducing the art of bell trees, including how to physically build the bell tree as well as how to arrange your bells for the piece. We will also look at a best practices when using a bell tree such as malleting techniques.

Child’s Play, Venita MacGorman. Children learn by “doing”…through experiences rather than lectures! In this class we will explore games that reinforce musical concepts and that enable our rehearsals to move as fast as the children do!

Conducting – floor, door, wall, ceiling!, Beth Judd. Everything from basic gesture to a master class-style tune-up – all in 45 minutes! Bring your Summit repertoire and we’ll channel our very best Leonard Bernstein!

Bass-ics and Beyond, Mark Arnold. This class will start with a review of the fundamentals of healthy bass ringing, from preparation and setup to safe ringing technique. We’ll move on to more advanced techniques and skill practice with tips and tricks for holding down the bottom end, including examples from the Summit music.

Creative Use of Handbells in Worship, Mitchell Eithun. Out of ideas about how to use handbells in your worship services? Directors and ringers are invited to come learn and experience unique and different ways handbells and handchimes can be used to facilitate worship.

Finding the Musical Line — Who’s Got the Melody? Sandra Eithun. Sometimes it’s very obvious where the melody is in a piece of music and again, it can be a little vague. This session will highlight various instances of when we might not be able to tell when our part has the melody or not. We’ll play through selections and try to fine tune our significance in the sections of the music. Am I the melody? Am I the accompaniment? Am I both? Come and find out. It’ll be fun for both ringers and directors.

High Bell Hijinks, Amy Bowden, Megan Corey. This will be a class for those who already know how to 4-in-hand but are looking to increase their treble bell skills. We will be discussing many different advanced treble bell techniques, including Shelly, 4-in-hand, malleting, marting, thumb damping, chromatic 4-in hand, and 6-in hand.

Not Your Grandmother’s Handbell Music!, Patty Highland and Mark Arnold. Come join this reading session of fun music that will leave you with earworms aplenty…happy, spooky, joyful, zingy, and zany. You might even find one to ring in church or in concert. BYOK (Bring Your Own KAZOO).

Small Ensemble Masterclass, Mitchell Eithun. Mitchell has made a name for himself, composing and arranging music for smaller ensembles. Come watch him at work as he teaches a small ensemble ways to assign positions and “ring big with less”.

Small Group, BIG Fun! Music for 2-3 Octave Bells, Sondra Tucker. This reading session focuses on music from diverse publishers and goes up to Level 3. Everyone needs a few pieces for a smaller group in their bag of tricks!

Technique – “Ring to pluck clapper grab”, Beth Judd. Try to say that 3 times fast! Our Summit repertoire is loaded with hitting the table, hitting the bell with sticks, shaking, swinging and on and on. Bring that music and we will work to perfect those techniques to enable our very best ringing for our Eithun conductors!

These are a Few of Our Favorite Things: Music for 3-5 Octave Bells, Patty Highland and Dellinda Ebeling. This reading session will feature favorites from our Area 9 Board members. There will be glorious music you may already know and love and other pieces we hope you’ll love as much as we do.

Using Your Creative Gifts: Composing and Arranging for Handbells, Gregory Pysh. This class will focus on how to craft compositions and arrangements for our ringers “at home”. In addition to creating an in class arrangement, examples from published music will be shared as well as opportunities participants may have for seeking publication of their work.

Getting Social