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2008 Festival Date and Clinician

Posted on March 12, 2007 | Filed Under 2008, Clinicians, Photos

The 2008 Knox Area Handbell Festival will be held on April 11-12 at Second Presbyterian Church. Returning to the festival as our clinician will be Beth Watson, past AGEHR president and Director of Music at Northwest Hills United Methodist Church in Austin, TX.

(from the AGEHR website):

Beth Watson is Director of Music Ministries at Northwest Hills United Methodist Church, Austin, Texas, where she oversees a program consisting of six choirs. Beth has been attending AGEHR activities since 1965 (as a member of a youth handbell choir in West Virginia) and has been conducting handbell choirs since 1968. She has served as Secretary/Treasurer of Area IX, and as Music Chairman for AGEHR, Inc. She is active as a conductor and clinician for seminars, festivals, workshops, and denominational worship and music conferences. She was also one of the conductors representing the United States at the International Handbell Symposium in Toronto, Canada, in the summer of 2004. Beth has one arrangement published by AGEHR music entitled “Gypsy Song” from Carmen by Georges Bizet. She is also the author of a chapter in the AGEHR publication Page One, for beginning directors. Beth was a charter member and the assistant conductor of the Dallas Handbell Ensemble and the was the original conductor of the Concert Bells of Fort Worth. In addition to her term as President of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, Beth also served as President of the Greater Dallas Handbell Association.

2007 Festival Final Concert (Part 2)

Posted on March 12, 2007 | Filed Under 2007, Choirs, Clinicians, Videos

Here’s the rest of the final concert!

2007 Festival Final Concert (Part 1)

Posted on March 12, 2007 | Filed Under 2007, Choirs, Clinicians, Videos

Here’s the video of highlights from the 2007 final concert. Enjoy!

“Celebration” World Premiere

Posted on March 12, 2007 | Filed Under 2007, Choirs, Clinicians, Videos

See the world premiere of “Celebration” by composer Fred Gramann.

2007 Festival Rehearsal Highlights (video)

Posted on March 12, 2007 | Filed Under 2007, Choirs, Clinicians, Videos

Here’s a quick video montage of our Saturday morning and afternoon massed rehearsal with clinician Fred Gramann.

2007 Festival Pictures

Posted on March 11, 2007 | Filed Under 2007, Choirs, Clinicians, Photos

Click on the handbells to see the pictures from the 2007 festival with Fred Gramann!

2007 Festival Information

Posted on March 9, 2007 | Filed Under 2007, Clinicians

The 2007 Knox Area Handbell Festival will be held March 9-10 at Grace Lutheran Church, 9076 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxville, TN.

This year’s clinician is Fred Gramann, a returning favorite, who served as our clinician for the 2002 Festival. He is a busy composer and conductor, and serves as Director of Music at the American Church in Paris. He is an absolute musician, and participants will enjoy working under his baton.

• Cost: $150 per choir
• Individual Ringer Fee: $25 per ringer, maximum of 4
• 2007 Registration Form (pdf)

Along with the registration form, send a non-refundable $35 deposit by January 31 to Andrew Duncan, Fountain City United Methodist Church, 212 Hotel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37918.

Make check payable to: Knox Area Handbell Festival. For additional information contact Becky Kidd at (865) 689-2453.

Registration is limited to 20 handbell choirs on a first-come first-serve basis.

2006 Festival Committee

Posted on March 9, 2007 | Filed Under 2006, Clinicians, Photos

Front, from left: Andrew Duncan, Fountain City UMC; Becky Kidd, Second UMC; Robert Ivey, conductor and clinician; Barbara Schmitt, Grace Lutheran Church. Back row, from left, Tim Lett and Ashley Burrell, First United Presbyterian Church

2006 Music Program and Clinician

Posted on February 9, 2007 | Filed Under 2006, Clinicians, Music

2006 Program:

1. Dorian Dance - Michael Joy
2. Intrada - Michael Helman
3. Mountain Springs - Sondra Tucker
4. Joyous Spirit - Valerie Stephenson
5. Now the Green Blade Riseth - Kevin McChesney
6. Blessing - Arnold Sherman
7. Fanfare Prelude on “Aurelia” - Douglas E. Wagner

Instrumentalists:

• Warren Clark, trumpet
• Rick Carl, trumpet
• Jeff Mize, trombone
• Sam Chen, trombone
• Jeremy Smith, timpani

Clinician: Robert Ivey

Robert Ivey is the Minister of Music at First Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC. At First Presbyterian he directs a program of six handbell choirs and seven singing choirs. Considered to be the “Dean of Handbells,” Mr. Ivey has been directing handbell choirs since 1960, and has toured extensively, both nationally and internationally. His compositions and arrangements are published by many prominent handbell publishers, and his two books, Handbell Assignment Book and Handbell Ringing-Learning, Teaching, Performing, are published by Agape.

Robert Ivey has been a member of the summer faculty of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, for the past twenty-nine years. His awards include a Citation of Merit in recognition of distinguised achievement in church music by Westminster Choir College and an Honorary Life Membership in the AGEHR.

View actual program (scanned pdf):  2006 Program

Final Concert Program 2002

Posted on January 16, 2007 | Filed Under 2002, Clinicians, Music

April 20, 2002

Grace Lutheran Church - Fred Gramann, clinician

Program:

• America the Beautiful - Arnold B. Sherman
• Brother James Air (Stacey Murray, flute) - Anna Laura Page
• Lumiere - Fred Gramann
• Christ is Alive! All Christians Sing - Janet Linker/Jane McFadden
• Morningdance - Cathy Moklebust
• Cantad al Señor (Kenton Kidd, accordian) - Sondra Tucker
• Osse Shalom (Tony Cooper, clarinet) - Susan T. Nelson
• Marche Triumphale - Michael Helman

Brass:

• Warren Clark and Patrick Winter - trumpet
• Les Dix - trombone
• Joy Roy - horn
• Donnie Pickle - tuba
• Joe Black - percussion

Fred Gramann, a native of Washington state, began his early organ studies with Dr. Edward Hansen of Seattle, winning the student organ competition sponsored by the Seattle Chapter of the American Guild of Organists while still in high school. While earning a Bachelor’s degree in organ performance at Syracuse University, he won first prize in the 1972 Ft. Wayne National Organ Competition and was awarded the Arthur Poister Prize for outstanding organist in the Syracuse University School of Music for four consecutive years. From 1972-1975 Fred studied organ in Paris, France, with Marie-Claire Alain, also spending one year working with organist and composer Maurice Duruflé. Fred earned a Masters Degree in organ performance at the University of Michigan during the 1975-1976 school year. He returned to Paris in 1976 as Director of Music at the American Church in Paris, the oldest non-governmental American institution abroad. He started a handbell program at the American Church in 1981 thanks to a gift of two octaves of handbells. The program has since grown to include four handbell choirs performing on five octaves of Schulmerich handbells, four and a half octaves of Malmark handbells, four octaves of Petit & Fritsen handbells, five octaves of Choirchimes and a growing set of Whitechapel handbells. Fred has had numerous choral anthems and handbell works published in the U.S. and is Honorary Associate Director of the Raleigh Ringers.

Committee Members:

• Rebecca Kidd, chair
• Ashley Burrell
• Allan Hoke
• Tim Lett
• Barbara Schmitt
• Tim Ward

Scanned copy of the 2002 program (pdf)

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