S�����/S�� 2018 V��� 19, I��� 2

Friend to Friend

Adventures in Music! 2

Adventures from the Prez

3

Adventures from the Treasurer

3

Friends of CBFW 4

Be a Friend 5

Almglocken 6

May Concerts 7

Inside this issue:

Conductor and Artistic Director, Stephanie Rhoades, Dallas

Ringers

Pam Adams*, Grand Prairie

Ashley Blaha, Dallas/Houston

Kari Daelke*, Mesquite

Elizabeth Garvin, Lewisville

Shari Gibson, Fort Worth

Cindy Karm, Dallas

Kerry Knox, Arlington

Alys Lindholm, Carrollton

Carol Lynn Mizell, Denton

Valerie Martin*, Grapevine

Martha Smith, Red Oak

Brenda Swindle, Farmers Branch

Lynn Tedford, N. Richland Hills

Karen Thompson*, N. Richland Hills

______________

*Executive Committee Member

Dedicated to musical excellence through artistic handbell performance

Concert Bells 2017-2018 (all, left to right):

Front Row: Kari Daelke, Karen Thompson, Kerry Knox, Pam Adams

2nd Row: Alys Lindholm, Cindy Karm, Valerie Martin, Lynn Tedford, Carol Lynn Mizell

Back Row: Brenda Swindle, Shari Gibson, Elizabeth Garvin,

Ashley Blaha, Stephanie Rhoades, Martha Smith

P�� 2 F���� �� F����

Adventures in Music!

When I came to Dallas in the fall of

1992 to begin graduate studies at

SMU, I was pleased to find a classical

radio station, WRR 101.1. One of

the daily shows that I came to love

was “Adventures in Good Music” by

host Karl Haas. At the time I didn’t

know that the show began airing

nationally in 1970 — the year I was

born; nor did I know it was awarded

a Peabody Award for excellence in

broadcasting in 1962. I loved how

each episode opened with the

second movement of Beethoven’s

“Pathétique” Sonata (performed by

Karl Haas himself), and his signature

greeting, “Hello everyone.” Each

daily episode of the show had a

different topic chosen by Haas, and

he aired his personal choice of

Stephanie Rhoades, Conductor & Artistic Director

“IN A WAY, WE

WILL VISIT

DIFFERENT

COUNTRIES AND

CULTURES

THROUGHOUT

THE PROGRAM. ”

classical music selections relating to

it, along with his pleasant blend of

explanation, analysis, and

background. I was very sad when

the show was cancelled in 2007

because the number of stations

carrying the show had dropped from

400 to fewer than 20.

When I started thinking about our

spring program, I was inspired by

Mr. Haas’ show. I wanted to feature

a variety of musical styles which

metaphorically “take us on an

adventure.” In a way, we will visit

different countries and cultures

throughout the program.

Additionally, some pieces will be an

adventure themselves. For example,

Jason Krug’s original piece,

“Kodiak,” is a musical depiction of

the life and landscape of Kodiak

Island, Alaska. The piece begins with

the dawning of the sun over the

island before heading into the local

waters on a fishing boat. We then

return to the island for a look at the

local wildlife and scenery before the

sun sets and we see the magical

beauty of the Northern Lights.

Complementing the original pieces

will be arrangements of popular

pieces such as “I Get Around” by

the Beach Boys (arranged for us by

Karen Thompson), “Eleanor Rigby”

by the Beatles, “Fly Me to the

Moon,” by Bart Howard and made

famous by Frank Sinatra, “How Far

I’ll Go,” written by Lin-Manuel

Miranda for the movie Moana, and a

medley of familiar “Western” songs

written for handbells and tuned

cowbells by Carol Lynn Mizell.

There will be something for

everyone, so bring the kids, too!

P�� 3 V��� 19, I��� 2

Adventures from the Treasurer

Adventures from the Prez

“We Remember, in honor of the victims

and heroes of 9/11/2001.” The program

was a combination of patriotic music and

scared music held in the Mesquite Arts

Center auditorium.

During the warm-up while rehearsing

our joint pieces, the “boom – blackout”

was quite a startling event. But once the

diagnosis and prognosis were

determined, we jumped into action.

Verlyn Smoker, the choir director,

fetched battery-operated lights from his

nearby church that the ringers attached

to their music. A choir member ran to

the hardware store and purchased small

flashlights so that the singers could read

their music. A couple of battery-

operated stand lights were attached to

the conductor stand so that the

musicians could see the hands of Verlyn

or Stephanie; however, we couldn’t see

much of their faces. The theater itself

had emergency lighting that only lit up

the walkways. The stage was dark. All

the audience could really see were

What an adventure! Boom –

blackout. An hour before the concert

started, the lights went out. The

energy company was summoned and

quickly determined a raccoon had

climbed into the neighborhood

transformer, causing it to explode.

Electricity could not be restored in

time for the concert. But as the old

saying goes, “the show must go on”!

It was the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Concert Bells of Fort Worth had

been invited by the First Presbyterian

Church of Mesquite to join their

church choir in a memorial concert:

Karen Thompson, President

Pam Adams, Treasurer

Happy Spring, Friends! Concert Bells is so excited about our concert theme of “Adventures in Music,”

especially coming off the most financially successful concert season to date this last holiday! We’re

constantly awed and humbled by the generosity of our Friends and concert attendees. We will perform a

great variety of music for you this spring, taking you through various adventures – and will be sharing with

you stories of our own adventures ringing around the country (sometimes around the world!) in some truly

fun and unique places! In fact, this time last year, we took our show “on the road” and traveled together

down to Waco, TX to perform at Texas Bronzefest at Baylor University with elite groups from all over

Texas, both community and university ensembles. We had a blast! These types of adventures are sometimes

solely possible through your generous donations. We were so grateful to be able to pay for the ensemble’s

registration costs and afford stipends toward each member’s hotel stay. Another way we have the

opportunity to create adventures outside the DFW area is by providing scholarships and donations to Guild

national events like College Ring In or National Seminar – these are fantastic opportunities for handbell

community involvement, education, and perfecting our art as ringers! As always, a very sincere and humble

thank you to all our Friends for your continued support – and we’re looking forward to sharing more

adventures with you! Please reach out to us to ask how you can get involved as a Friend of Concert Bells of

Fort Worth! Looking forward to seeing you at our concerts!

flashes of our bells as they came near

our stand lights and a bit of glow near

the singers’ music.

One piece performed that day was

“America the Beautiful,” a beautiful

setting for choir, handbells, piano, and

organ. With no electricity, the

organist, B.J. Mauldin, and pianist, our

own Quinda Hatfield, had to sit side

by side on the piano bench and ad lib a

new accompaniment. And it was

glorious! But by far the most moving

moment of the concert was when we

rang a poignant handbell and oboe

arrangement of “Amazing Grace” by

Dean Wagner. Imagine a sweeping

treatment of the sentimental and

beloved hymn tune that crescendos

and builds and then dramatically pulls

back into a soft moment as the tune

“Taps” enters. In the complete

darkness of the room, it was

hauntingly beautiful. It was a powerful

tribute to the victims and heroes of

9/11/2001.

P�� 4 F���� �� F����

Friends of Concert Bells of Fort Worth

Contributor’s Circle

Anonymous (2)

Charles & Eula Axe

Christi Carter

Kari Daelke

Kevin & Kelli Daelke

Tracy DePue

William & Emily Eason

Frank Effland

Lesa Guerrero

Carol Haynes

Cindy Karm

Eric & Nancy Kincaid

Pastor Olin & Carolyn Knudson

Julia Kuhn

Jessica Larson

Kathy Lowrie

Terry & Jennifer Mount

Lynn Peterson

Mark & Libby Pope

Al Reese

Loretta E. Robinson

Frank Shroyer

Janet Sweeny

Brenda Swindle

Daniel C. Thomas

Paula Thomson

Judy Townley

Robert & Judith Williams

Jan & Maurine Wilson

President’s Circle

Mark & Nicole Culp

Thomas & Adelaide Leavens

Robert & Sherry Meeks

Dennis Simpson

Lynn Tedford

Rick & Karen Thompson

Premiere Circle

Ginger Bodino

Bruce & Karla Campbell

Kay Champagne

Dennis & Kathi Feduke

Donna Hagerty

Lynette Hendricks & Stephanie Rhoades

Vernon E. & Bronwyn Rew

Director’s Circle

Dan & Elizabeth Garvin

Edward Hale

Jean Harden

Rich & Janeen Karm

Grand Circle

David & Linda Anderson

Theodore & Janet Daelke

David & Elise Dixon

Kelli Ettelbrick

Sally Gibson

Matt & Shari Gibson

Nancy Gillis

Richard & Holly Hodges

Jon & Stefani Lee

Dale & Valerie Martin

Bob & Carol Lynn Mizell

Michael & Claire Morris

Joan Muser

David & Carol Rowley

James & Barbara Thompson

Charlene Watson

Billy & Joan Youngblood

Judy Youngblood

Help CBFW even more!

Request digital delivery of the

newsletter. Send your request to:

webadmin@concertbells.com

Ring of Honor David & Mary Bell

Scot Latta

George & Nesha Morey

Lifetime Member

Beth Judd

P�� 5 V��� 19, I��� 2

P�� 6 F���� �� F����

“COME AND

ENJOY THE

UNIQUE SOUNDS

THAT ONLY

“MORE

COWBELL” CAN

BRING YOUR

WAY!”

Almglocken (Tuned Cowbells!)

Carol Lynn Mizell

In the spring of 2012, I had an interest in

having a set of tuned cowbells/sheep bells,

and made an inquiry to Marlow Cowan

(from whom I had purchased my Petit &

FritsenTM handbells a few years earlier). He

had a set of sheep bells – two and a half

octaves (C4-G6) that he was selling, and we

made a deal. (Incidentally, Marlow told me

that one of his favorite tunes to ring with

the Almglocken was “I’d Like to Be a

Cowboy, But I’m Afraid of Cows”!) My

thought was that someday, I would arrange

an appropriate medley to feature this new

acquisition. Time marched on. Then in

August of 2017, I spied a one-octave set of

Almglocken for sale on eBay, and persisted

until I was the winner of the auction.

(NOTE: The set pictured on the right is

beautifully decorated on the back side of each

bell. Come to the concert to see them in

person!) These wonderful sets of distinctive-

sounding bells certainly needed to be

showcased in a Concert Bells of Fort

Worth performance!

“Wild West Wanderings” consists of four

cowboy folk songs: It opens with sounds of

a great rain storm that morphs into a song

that expresses the love that the cowboy has

for the wide open spaces in which he

dwells in Home on the Range. It proceeds

to the dance tune Buffalo Gals, depicting an

outdoor square dance “by the light of the

moon.” The nostalgic ballad I’m Going to

Leave Old Texas Now, a lament as the wide

open spaces of cattle ranges began to be

fenced in, provides an opportunity for the

two Solo Cowbell Ringers to echo one

another. In the words of The Yellow Rose of

Texas, “You can talk about your

Clementine, and sing of Rosalie, but the

Yellow Rose of Texas is the only girl for

me!” When the two Solo Cowbell Ringers

join the group on the final selection, the

listener will hear strains of My Darling

Clementine intertwined with the melody of

The Yellow Rose of Texas!

Carol Lynn Mizell and Brenda Swindle are

embarking on the adventure of being Solo

Cowbell Ringers. Come and enjoy the

unique sounds that only “MORE

COWBELL” can bring your way!

Brenda Swindle

Set 1: C4-G6 / Set 2: C5-C6

Carol Lynn Mizell

P�� 7 V��� 19, I��� 2

Concert Bells of Fort Worth

c/o Karen Thompson

7901 Kandy Lane

North Richland Hills, Texas 76182

Visit our website:

www.ConcertBells.com

© 2018 Concert Bells of Fort Worth. All rights reserved. Editor: Brenda Swindle

“Like” Concert Bells of Fort Worth on

Facebook! www.facebook/concertbells

We will be posting our latest concert

dates, photos and other info so you can

easily keep up with the latest happenings

with the group. We also welcome your

comments and suggestions.

Sign up for our mailing list online! We have partnered with Vertical Response to provide an

online sign up for our mailing list. Just fill out the form found on

our website and you will begin receiving upcoming concert and

news information regarding Concert Bells of Fort Worth. Rest

assured, we will not sell or distribute the list to any other

party.

Email Marketing by Vertical Response and the Concert Bells of Fort Worth