Recent News
The Power of Self-Confidence
by Steve Mazeau While we like to describe handbell workshops as "skill building", I feel the real culprit, hiding in the shadows, is a lack of self-confidence. I see this in people who sit in the pews and say how nice the bells sound, and they want to try it, but...
Thanks to you, Festival Conference is on!
Dear Friends and Area 1 Members, As March comes to a close, I am pleased to report that our Planning Committee is making great progress in bringing you another memorable and meaningful Area 1 Festival Conference this June. We are inspired by hundreds of handbell...
SnagASub in 2022
SnagASub in 2022 Back in September, I collected up the material for SnagASub from Cindy McLean-Greeley as she wanted to retire as the coordinator. Cindy and Gail Granum first organized the Area 1 SnagASub program in 2015. For anyone not familiar with SnagASub or how...
Making Lemonade out of Lemons: Winter Workschoppe and the Unexpected Benefits of a Blizzard
by Abby Schoppe It all started with a Facebook post. No, scratch that – it all started because I was disappointed. Like many sacred musicians, I’d been having a particularly challenging year, and amid the Omicron surge, my church had recently canceled all in-person...
A Gallery of Festival Conference 2019
Lots of people have shared many pictures on facebook and other social media sites, but here is a selection of some of our favorites.
Festival Conference 2019: Day 1 – Thursday
The first evening of Area 1’s 2019 Festival Conference brought the opening bell, the first Massed rehearsal, and the opening concert by Forté.