Ringing Between the Bluffs
Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of Handbell Musicians of America
La Crosse, Wisconsin | June 20 - 23, 2024
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have made an excellent decision to attend the 2024 Area 7 Handbell Festival Conference in June. Attending a Festival is a great opportunity to grow as a ringer, as a director, and as an ensemble. Ringing with hundreds of other ringers is such a glorious sound and a rewarding experience. If you have any questions regarding the Festival or the information being collected through this site, feel free to email the Registar, Trevor Lee, at [email protected]. Trevor will make sure your question is forwarded to the correct individual for the quickest response.
Sandra Eithun, MMEd, is a graduate of Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, with an emphasis in the Kodály teaching method, keyboard, and flute. She is married, has four grown children, and currently resides in New London, Wisconsin, where she has been serving as Director of Music Ministry at First Congregational United Church of Christ since 1992. At her church, Sandra is the director of three handbell choirs, serves as choral accompanist, and organist/keyboardist.
Sandra is the director of the Silver Lake College Handbell Ensemble, is an active member of the Handbell Musicians of America, and has served on their Area VII Board of Directors.
Alex Guebert is a composer, arranger, percussionist, music director and music teacher from Orange, California. He directs five handbell groups in the area; among those are two advanced-level groups, Cathedral Bells of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Orange, and L.A. Bronze. His compositions and arrangements have been published and performed nationwide and overseas. Alex’s compositional style is a result of his background as a percussionist, his love of film score, and his desire to broaden the horizons of handbell repertoire.
Lee Afdahl is the Director of Music Emeritus of First Presbyterian Church of Rochester, Minnesota. A graduate of Luther College, Decorah, IA, Lee is a church musician with fifty years of experience in leading active programs of choral and handbell ensembles in Michigan and Minnesota.
Lee has served the Handbell Musicians of America as Michigan Chair for Area 5, Chair of Area 7, and is a Past President of the national board of the organization. He represented the organization as a conductor at the International Handbell Symposia in Adelaide, Australia in 1994, Liverpool, UK in 2012 and Jeju, South Korea in 2014.
Fields marked with * are required and must be completed.
There are three types of registration available:
You can select to ring in either the Coppers division or the Bronze division. Coppers division groups typically ring on three to five octaves of handbells and play music in the level 2 and 3+ range. Bronze division groups typically ring on five to seven octaves of handbells and play music level 4 and above. You will also perform in the massed choir which involves both divisions.
There are four scholarships available through the Clista Wood Scholarship Fund: two for the full 3-day Festival and one for each of the one-day events. Find the Scholarship Application forms and details in the FESTIVAL INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTS section.
By March 15, $80 is due at the time of registration for the full three-day event. $40 is due at the time of registration for the one-day event. The registration balance is due no later than May 15, 2024. Any outstanding balance will automatically be charged to the same credit card used to pay the deposit.
A nominal transaction fee will be added to cover the cost of processing the credit card payment.
Participate in all massed rehearsals, classes, specialty choir performances, Friday, Saturday, Sunday meals, and the closing concert.
- Friday dinner and Showcase concert- Great classes. Choose any class offered (in either division) on the day you attend- Fun times, great fellowship, meet new friends
- Saturday lunch- Admittance to the Conference Choir and Bronze Plus specialty choir performances - Great classes. Choose any class offered (in either division) on the day you attend- Fun times, great fellowship, meet new friends
If you are registering as part of a group/choir, please provide the name of the director and their HMA Membership ID. It is very important to enter the director name and their HMA Membership ID to ensure you will be assigned to the correct group.
If you are registering as an individual ringer, enter the name of your director and the HMA Membership ID of your regular choir.
If you are registering as an individual ringer, enter your name and your individual HMA Membership ID.
If you are unsure of the following information, the Registrar will work with you to find the information. Please email the following information to [email protected]
Click here for a sizing chart.
Not coming with a full group? If you are providing equipment for your group and not all of your ringing positions are filled, please indicate so below. You will be contacted by the Registrar with contact information of individual ringer(s) who need a place to ring, and can hopefully be placed in your choir. Ringers joining you will be responsible for bringing their own music and gloves. You will provide bells, chimes, mallets, etc. and a space at your tables.
If you have open positions, please indicate which positions are open. If you have no open positions, continue on to the next question.
If you determine at a later time you have open positions, please come back and update your registration. There will be attendees not coming as part of a group and will need to be placed into a group.
Please note: Tables are available to rent from the convention center. If you are renting tables, you still need to bring foam and covers.
If you are attending the festival and are the director and/or the person responsible for the equipment you are bringing, please check this box.
Some of the pieces to be played during the closing concert have additional instrumental parts. If you are willing to play an instrument instead of ringing handbells for a song, please indicate which instruments you are able, and willing, to play.
Before you can choose your classes, you first need to select your Ringing Division above. Your choices are Coppers or Bronze. If you would like to download a description of class offering and/or faculty bio's, click here to open a list of informational documents available for the 2024 festival. You should see the following documents pertaining to the class offerings and faculty:
This informative meeting at 2:10pm on Friday June 21 is for HMA members and or the director or leader of your group. Important Area and National HMA information will be shared, while you enjoy an afternoon snack.
This meeting is a requirement of the Area Bylaws to keep the membership informed and to ask for your input.
If you are planning on attending the Leadership Tea, make sure you choose Leadership Tea as the Period 4, Friday 2:10pm class selection.
There are two specialty choir categories available to join at the 2042 festival - Conference Choir and Bronze Plus.
The Conference Choir consists of up to 39 ringers (3 choirs) who are comfortable ringing Level 3+ repertoire.
Bronze Plus ensemble now consists of up to two choirs 13 - 14 ringers in each choir. Only ringers who have proven their ability to proficiently ring Level 5 handbell music will be considered.
If you are interested in one of these choirs, choose the appropriate option above. Please be aware that you can be in only one specialty choir. Choosing a choir below does not guarantee you will be accepted for a specialty choir.
Additional information as well as application forms may be found by clicking here.
The Festival Committee is pleased to offer two fun, “let your hair down” optional activities during free time at the Festival. Either event can be attended as an individual or as part of a group. There is an additional fee for each. Those who are purchasing tickets for either of these events will need your Registration/Membership Number. The ticket received at checkout must be presented at the event.
Bells & Beer on Thursday June 20, 7 - 9pm at Pearl Street Brewery.
Pizza dinner on the La Crosse Queen paddleboat, Saturday June 22, 6:30 - 8:30pm. The Saturday dinner cruise will leave from the north side of Veterans Park promptly at 6:30pm.
Space is limited on both events, so register early. The number of tickets available will be visible on the purchase screens.
If the reservation limit has been reached, you will not be able to complete your registration for these events. Send an email to the Registrar requesting that you would like to be put on a waiting list. Include your Name and HMA Membership ID, cell number, and how many tickets you would like.
If you purchase a ticket(s) and later determine you cannot attend, contact the Registrar with as much notice as possible.
BELLS & BEER Choir – Thursday 7:00 - 9:00pm
Do not miss this optional, fun pre-Festival event, exclusively for Area 7 ringers. We will gather at the Pearl Street Brewery.Upon arrival, you will receive a handchime, a sing-a-along songbook, and a voucher for your first two brews or beverages. Professional song leaders from the Twin Cities Beer Choir organization will lead us in the evening’s frivolities.The ticket price of $30 includes entrance into the private area of the Pearl Street Brewery, your first two pints of craft beer brewed specifically for Area 7, aptly named LET'S RING LAGER, (or other comparably priced beverage) and guaranteed fun. Food-truck-type food will be available at the brewery.Quoted from the Beer Choir Twin Cities website:When you walk into a beer hall for a Beer Choir event, you find a vivacious, borderline rowdy, gathering of fellow drinking singers ready to lift their voices (and glasses) in song.Encouraged by a one or two outgoing Song Leaders, and supported by a kindly pianist, attendees BECOME the choir that sings while drinking beer or beverage. Grab a Beer Choir Hymnal — our songbook that will guide the evening — and a pint and get ready to join in on traditional drinking songs from Europe and America, some popular tunes and hymns, and a handful of adventurous choral songs.You don’t need to love choral music, or even sing well, to enjoy Beer Choir — all you need to do is show up!Another special treat for Area 7, a tradition that was started in Duluth at the 2024 Festival … Cathy Moklebust will be conducting the special beer song she composed just for us, which will be played (sung and rung) on this special night.Space is limited, so register early.
Dinner Cruise – Saturday 6:30 - 8:30pm
Come aboard for a magical evening on the Mississippi River. A pizza dinner cruise has been reserved for Area 7. Sit back and relax while the La Crosse Queen paddles along the main channel for 2 hours.This is an optional activity and advanced reservations are necessary. Tap beer and sodas are free. Cash bar is available. 3 - 4 pieces of pizza will be available.The cruise leaves the north side of Veterans Park promptly at 6:30pm and returns at 8:30pm.
If you would like to bring a guest to a Festival meal, you can purchase tickets for your guest. Tickets are $25 per meal.
Each registrant will receive one ticket to the Friday evening showcase concert. If you would like to bring a guest, you can purchase additional tickets. Tickets are $20.
You have the option to purchase Festival T-shirts for your ringers not able to attend. T-Shirts are $10 apiece.
To help celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Handbell Musicians in America, we are offering the option to purchase a special Anniversary shirt – either a polo or and t-shirt. Wear this whenever you attend any handbell event in the future to show your celebratory spirit.
The shirt will be black with the official colored Anniversary logo. You might want to consider adopting this as your choir’s performance attire.
NOTE: These are not the official Area 7 2024 Festival shirts.
T-Shirts are $10 each.
Polo Shirts are $35 each.
Area 7 has reserved blocks of rooms in La Crosse hotels. To see the available hotels, you can click this link. The nightly rates listed do not include tax.
Cancellations made by May 15, 2024 will receive a full refund (less applicable transaction fees.)
Cancellations made between May 16, 2024 and May 31, 2024 may be submitted via email to the Registrar. A refund of fees paid, less $100 administrative fee ($50 fee for one-day Festival event registration), will be processed.
No refunds will be made after June 1, 2024.
