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Rehearsal Video                                               

Special Extras        Percussion                     Vessel into Harbor Second video of Vessel
 "Our special extras! Gary and Harvey         Vessel coming into harbor. Boat is 758 feet long!!!
- our very own percussion section"                              

Solo Piece                                                                      Fearless Leader
"Rehearsing our solo"                                                    "Our fearless leader"

 

Off to bed to start another day bright and early...rehearsal starts at 7:30 sharp!

WOW!!! What a privilege and treat to see The AGAPE Ringers ( please hyperlink this url to the agape ringers: (http://www.agaperingers.org/ ) perform tonight. Directed by David Weck, this Chicago based, auditioned handbell choir is quite an accomplished ensemble. They epitomize the visual art of handbell ringing.



     



"Our solo piece: The Syncopated Clock by Leroy Anderson"


Had a fantastic massed rehearsal this afternoon with all 450 participating ringers. That's a lot of ding-a-lings in one room!  It's a fantastic experience to ring with that many ringers in one room. We take up the entire floor of the DECC Arena  http://www.decc.org/



Hi!! Anne Meyer here... I am learning lots about effective conducting. Just wait until I bring my new improved techniques back to Evensong and Hosanna Choir! And, with all the hours of rehearsals, Choral Bells might notice a change as well! Tee hee... Cannot wait to share all our adventures. But now it is time for rehearsal...



     
" waiting to set up for          "working so hard fingers are
our solo performance."           wearing through gloves!"



After lunch today, a couple of the ringers had a chance to sit out by the harbor during some free time and watched one of the huge vessels come into the harbor to drop off a load of coal and pick up a load of taconite
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/education/geology/digging/taconite.html ).
Duluth has a great website ( www.duluthboats.com ) with daily schedules of all the boats coming into the harbor. The site shows the name of the vessel, when it was built, what country it's from, what the cargo is and when it's entering the harbor. The picture shows the lift bridge on its way up preparing for the vessel to enter the harbor.




 
Dinner  Thursday night at Grandma's

   
Things are going great for the Ringing Badgers at the Handbell Musicians of America Area 7 Festival Conference in Duluth, MN. Classes, mass ringing, special concerts, and relaxing by lake Superior are just some of the many activities they are enjoying.

The group's solo performance is tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. Here is some information about the ensemble:

The Ringing Badgers are making their debut performance on Saturday morning at area 7's second mini concert. The group's director is Mark Bloedow, area 7's Sub Area Chair for Wisconsin South, and director of worship and music at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Madison and Verona, Wisconsin.

He formed the group to attend this year's festival conference. The ensemble consists of five ringers from Good Shepherd, three ringers from Madison Area Concert Handbells and one from Asbury United Methodist Church, Madison. One of the Ringing Badger's members was unable to attend the festival due to a recent loss in her family. The group is thankful for two special guests joining them this morning: Sondra Joten from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Appleton, WI and Kim Ahlgrim-Heine from the Agape Ringers. In addition, their distinguished percussion section includes Gary and Harvey, spouses of Good Shepherd ringers. The ringers and Mark are very excited to be at the festival conference.