Handbell Links
Canadian Guilds
BCGEHR is one of five provincial guilds that are constituent parts of Handbell Guilds of Canada.
Handbell Guilds of Canada
Alberta Guild of English Handbell Ringers
Saskatchewan Guild of English Handbell Ringers
Manitoba Guild of English Handbell Ringers
Ontario Guild of English Handbell Ringers
International Guilds
American Guild of English Handbell Ringers
Handbell Ringers of Great Britain
Handbell Society of Australasia
Korean Handbell Association
Handbell Ringers of Japan
International Handbell Symposium
The 13th International Handbell Symposium will be held in Orlando, Florida in 2008.
The history of the International Handbell Symposia dates back the August l982, when David R. Davidson, then president of AGEHR, attended the Japanese National Handbell Workshop, hosted by the Handbell Ringers of Japan (HRJ). During his visit as guest clinician, the Japanese handbell ringers suggested the need for an international gathering. David R. Davidson, Kazuo Ohta (HRJ board member)and Sun-joo Shin (then HRJ deputy secretary) decided to create the International Handbell Symposium where handbell ringers from all over the world could gather to participate and exchange their individual cultures through the "art of handbell ringing."
The principal purpose of the International Handbell Symposium is to promote the communication between nations, the spreading of handbell ringing as art, and to extend the spirit of world peace through music.
The First International Handbell Symposium was held in Arcata, California, USA in 1984. Subsequent Symposia have been held every two years since then in Gotemba, Japan (1986); Exeter, Great Britain (1988); Seoul, Korea (1990); Edmonton, Canada (1992); Adelaide, Australia (1994); Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA (1996), Makuhari Messe, Japan (1998), Birmingham, Great Britain (2000); Seoul, Korea, (2002); Toronto, Canada (2004), and Brisbane, Australia (2006).
The event now attracts over 600 participants from all over the world. Not only is the art and skill of handbell ringing exchanged, but the participants are able to enjoy seeing and experiencing the cultures of each country. Many of the groups go on tour before or after the Symposium, holding concerts in the areas they visit. Most of these concerts are held for charitable purposes.
Handbell Manufacturers, Suppliers, Music, Gifts
Handbell and Handchime Manufacturers:
Malmark
Schulmerich
Whitechapel
Empire Music in Vancouver offers a loan program for Suzuki Chimes.
8553 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5X 3M3
Phone 1.800.663.5979, or e-mail Gwenda at empire@empire-music.com
Dwight Holmberg
Repair and maintenance of Schulmerich bells
Winfield, BC (in the Okanagan Valley)
250.766.2649 or e-mail Dwight at lnd@cablelan.net
Handbells Etc.
(Handbell music, gifts, clothing, and Malmark representative for Western Canada)
email:
Camille Ream camille@handbellsetc.ab.ca and
Susan Galloway susan@handbellsetc.ab.ca
11245 - 12 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6J 6V6
Phone 800.578.BELL or 780.437.9096;
fax 780.997.0552
John S. Nelson
email: john@schulmerichbells.com
(Schulmerich Carillons representative for Western Canada)
#107 Lincoln Manor SW, Calgary, AB T3E 7E3
Phone 403.242.0862;
fax 403.686.3916
Jeffers Handbell Supply Inc.
(All things handbell, including a convenient music selection assistant)
Handbell Graces
(Handbell supplies and gifts, workshop clinician)
Genesis Press / Cantabile Press
(Music for beginning choirs and for small ensembles)
Blanche Kangas
email: contact@bellbuggyx.com,
Bell Buggy Express
Suite 109 –1414 West Garland, Spokane, WA 99205
Phone: 1.800.482.3772
Handbell Information
Subscribe to “Handbell-L,” an on-line community of approximately 1500 fellow handbell enthusiasts. This is an extremely useful resource and tool, especially for directors. Follow or participate in discussions on a wide variety of bell-related topics, ask questions, get opinions on a particular piece of music or a certain technique, contact the composer/arranger of the piece you’re working on, post a notice about your concerts. Just about any topic related to handbells and handbell music is fair game. Click here: www.ringem.org, click on the link for the “Handbell-L,” and follow the instructions. You can un-subscribe at any time.
The History of English Handbell Ringing
Handbell information on a variety of topics
Humour
Classic Johnny Carson footage: Claude Cooper’s Clean Copper Clappers
Largest source of internet humour from BCGEHR’s own Joe-kster