College Ring-In 2018 Scholarship Winners

Two students from Purdue University were selected to receive Houston Bronze Scholarships to College Ring-In, 2018.  This event is sponsored by  Handbell Musicians of America College Ring-In 2018  was held at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey on January  3-6, 2018.  Our winners both ring with Purdue Bells.

Meet Sara Wendt:  Sara started playing handbells at her home church in 7th grade and knew she wanted to continue in college. Purdue also has two small ensemble groups, and she is  a member of both.     She currently serves as manager of Purdue Bells.  This will  be her third College Ring-In.  She is  hoping to leave this year's College Ring-In with a better appreciation for handbells as an art and a better sense of musicality overall. She feels it is important to see how different directors interpret music and help ringers connect the notes on the page to their movements and playing style to create the best possible sound.



 

Meet Karen You:   Karen played in her high school's handbell ensemble in Singapore for three years. Through all the rehearsals and various performances and competitions, she  fell in love with this unique instrument and decided to ring  in college. This led her to Purdue.   At College Ring-In, 2018, Karen looks forward to improving as a musician. She has learned from each new conductor and feels that ringing under Michael Joy will be a highlight in her handbell career.  She also looks forward to meeting ringers from other schools and sharing the  passion not only for bells, but also for other aspects of life.  She knows that this will be a valuable experience that will motivate her in the future.

Below are pictures that were submitted by Sara and Karen taken while there were at the event.  Following that you will find their final words on the event.   Submitting pictures and comments while there as well as a final summary  were a part of receiving the scholarship monies.  We enjoyed seeing their posts and hearing about the event.  We hope to meet both of these young ladies in the future at another handbell event.  We send them the best as they continue in their handbell endeavors.

 We look forward to next year and doing this again.

Final words from Sara: 
I arrived at College Ring-In this year with high expectations. It was my third experience with the event so I was excited to see the friends I've made over the last two years and ring with a high level of musicality under the direction of Michael Joy. I'm fortunate enough to be a member of Purdue Bells which has become an outstanding ensemble under the direction of Rhonda Blacklock. I've certainly improved as a ringer in my four years at Purdue, but my first College Ring-In was where I first learned what it really means to ring with musicality. I was pleased to find that Michael Joy's mini-sermons about Laban movement theory and thinking of the body as the instrument that were so revolutionary to me two years ago are now second nature to my ringing style.
 
What I didn't realize was how much this year's ring-in would exceed my expectations from the previous two years. This was the largest group we've had by far, and I was just overwhelmed by the amount of talent in the room. I've also never played in a 7 octave choir. I was delighted to hear the incredibly high eighth octave occasionally pierce through our sound, as well as the second octave bells filling out the bottom of the sound. I also didn't expect to win the drawing for a free registration to Distinctly Bronze East! I look forward to that experience as well as many more events in the future.

Final words from Karen: 
College Ring-In is one of the best handbell ringing experiences that I have ever had! The two consecutive days of ringing for almost 8 hours each day was crazy but a lot of fun as well. I was so exhausted at the end of each day yet I wanted to continue making great music with my fellow ringers.
 
I really enjoyed ringing under the direction of Michael Joy who was professional and at the same time, very interesting. One of the pieces that we played, Dorian Dance, was composed by him and it was such a great thing to be able to hear from the composer himself what he wanted to achieve at different point of the music. We were also thrilled to have Bill Griffin over who arranged Bourree which was another song on our repertoire. Hearing from great musicians like them was extremely helpful for me to grow musically.
 
For me, the unpublished music reading session was the highlight of the event. All the arrangements and original pieces were so beautiful that I felt so honored to be the first ringers to play them. I was also inspired by these musicians’ talent and hard work. The way they express themselves through music, what they love and cherish, makes me want to be just like them.
 
I was glad to be able to meet new people who love bells just like me and foster friendship with them. Most of us come from different schools, have different musical backgrounds and are at rather different points of our lives, however, none of these mattered here at College Ring-In, We were bonded by our common passion for bells and we came here to make great music as well as to have fun. I felt I really look forward to ringing with them again in future!