Our Spring Concert: A HANDBELL ODYSSEY! Join us for A Handbell Odyssey! We'll take a musical trip around America and Europe with favorite folk tunes as well as original compositions for handbells inspired by the beauty of many diverse lands and cultures.
Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children 16 and under. Tickets are available at both Borders Book Shop locations and at Orange Tree Imports. Among other wonderful selections, come hear the following:
DEADLINE APPROACHES: As many newsletter readers know, MACH received a $6,000 matching grant from the Madison Community Foundation to purchase our own set of handbells. We must raise $6,000 to match this grant in order to receive the full amount from MCF. The deadline for fund raising for this grant is May 19, and we need your help to reach our goal! We have received a number of generous gifts from individuals and area companies toward this effort. We thank everyone who has supported MACH thus far. We'd particularly like to recognize the companies that have contributed. They include: Thompson, Plumb & Associates, Inc.; Research Products Corporation; Berbee Information Networks Corporation; Mennenga Tax & Financial Service; and Alliant Energy Corporation. To contribute toward the matching grant or MACH's ongoing program, please send your contribution to the address below.
MACH WAS BUSY IN DECEMBER ! Madison Area Concert Handbells did a lot of loading and unloading of equipment last December (five minivan loads per performance). We presented 10 different concerts within a span of 19 days: 2 ticketed concerts and performances at the Evansville (WI) Nursing Home, at the Civic Center prior to a Madison Symphony Orchestra concert, at Attic Angels Nursing Home*, for Oakwood Lutheran Home residents**, in the atrium of UW Hospital*, in Paige Court at the Elvehjem Museum of Art, on WHA Radio (Jonathan Overby's "Higher Ground" program), and at Olbrich Gardens. (One "footnote" - While unloading equipment for the Olbrich concert, one of the heaviest handbell cases fell on the foot of one of our ringers and broke a bone. She iced her painful foot, performed the concert, then drove to the emergency room where her foot was placed in a cast. What dedication!) In addition to providing the Madison area with high quality musical performances, we continue to educate both ringers and non-ringers about our unusual instrument and the techniques that bring handbells to their fullest expression. As our group matures, we expect to establish a regular program of ringer workshops and other educational resources. We welcome all comments, inquiries and suggestions. * Thanks to Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission and The Overture
Foundation for help funding these concerts. Other Upcoming Performances In May, in addition to our two full concerts, MACH will perform for Rotarians at a district meeting and for Baraboo's Walnut Hill Bible Church concert series. The church is planning to buy handbells soon and MACH's concert is designed to instruct and inspire new ringers and supporters of their handbell program. The Madison Symphony Orchestra has invited MACH to perform with them on the Civic Center stage during their December 2000 Holiday Concerts. We also plan to provide lobby music to welcome audience members to these gala performances. Our own holiday concerts will be held on Saturday, December 9, at 7:30 pm at Asbury United Methodist Church (University Avenue), and Sunday , December 10, at 3:00 pm at St. Bernard's Catholic Church (Atwood Avenue). Mark your calendars! TRY IT OUT! Would you like to ring handbells with the Madison Symphony Orchestra this fall? MACH has some exciting opportunities lined up for the coming season, and we're looking for a few good ringers to join in the fun! Auditions for new ringers are planned for the week of May 21. Give us a ring to set up an appointment. We'll give you a chance to show us your stuff: basic handbell ringing techniques, sight reading, rhythmic and bell-changing skills. Remember to smile, and remember that every ringer in the choir still has a lot to learn; we're all in this together. An important note: MACH has a policy to uphold ringers' commitments to their current handbell choirs; they are encouraged not to leave their choirs to join MACH. Consider a membership in MACH as the icing on your handbell cake! WHERE DO THEY ALL COME FROM? As our name implies, the ringers in MACH are from the Madison area. Our musicians have come from all corners of South-Central Wisconsin including Morrisonville, Fitchburg, Verona, Middleton, Sun Prairie, Lake Mills, DeForest, Waunakee and of course, Madison. We've even had a ringer come from Jefferson. Ah, the lengths to which ringers will go to do something they love! FAQ (Frequently Asked Question): Except for a few handbell-specific notational markings, handbell music looks a lot like a piano score; each ringer reads his or her notes from the full handbell score. It differs from piano music in that often there are more than 10 notes in a chord or chord notes in a range that would be impossible for hands to cover on a piano. It is somewhat similar to multi-part vocal music in that some "voice" lines are indicated by stem direction, voice-leading lines, or additional rests for clarity. Some of the markings specific to handbells include various stopped sounds (such as martellato or thumb damp), special sound effects (such as swing or echo), and what would be the equivalent of selective pedaling on a piano (laissez vibrer - let vibrate - and damp). There are many wonderful original compositions for handbells, written with the special characteristics of the instrument in mind, as well as arrangements of music from almost all styles, including classical, folk, jazz, show tunes, hymns, and even rock and roll. (Yes, "Wipe Out" has been played on handbells!)
TAKE THE MUSIC HOME Keep the joyful music of MACH ringing in your home! You can take the music with you after the concert, and support MACH as well, through the purchase of MACH concert CDs. Two CDs are available this spring: Music of the Spheres presents selections from MACH's spring concerts through 1999, and Concert Highlights brings together the "greatest hits" of Christmases past. Together, the CDs offer music for all seasons. The CDs can be purchased for $12 each. They make excellent gifts, but you'll want them for yourself as well! You can buy the CDs at MACH concerts, at Ward-Brodt Music store in Madison, or by contacting us directly (see contact information on the front page).
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