Superpaige's Pad

The Trials of a Busy Mom

Category: Bells (Page 3 of 7)

Spring Ring

March 12, 2013 / / 1 Comment

A few months ago, I got a call from Mary, one of the directors of the Handbell Guild. They are the nice people who have loaned me the chimes to start my elementary school hand chime choir. She asked if I would like to bring my choir to perform at the annual Spring Ring, where hand bell choirs from all throughout the state come for an all day workshop with a guest clinician. This year’s event would be held at Davis High. I pretty much dismissed that idea, because first of all, I only had 12 students at the time, and second.. Davis High? That’s in Kaysville. Do you know how far that is to drive? I politely thanked her and told her I would think about it.

Well, she called again in February and reminded me that we were invited to come and play at the spring ring if we could. The board thought it would be fun to include an elementary choir, and say a little bit about the chime loan program to encourage other people who might want to get a choir started at their school or church. Well, I told her I would ask the parents and get back to her. I sent out an email to the parents of my choir and told them we had been invited to this bell choir event that was WAY up in Kaysville, and they would have to drive their kids there, and if they didn’t all come it would be fine. I figured I would need 11 kids to make it work. Maybe 10. Within a few days I had 8 kids committed to come. With my two kids, that would be 10, so I decided to go for it.

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I told the kids and the parents that we would go, and accepted the invitation, but not without trepidation. It’s one thing to play in the band and orchestra concert where the only people who come are the parents who think whatever their kid does is great, and another thing entirely to play in front of a whole crowd of BELL PEOPLE. Not only bell people, but my peers. I told LeAnna Wilmore, the Bells on Temple Square director, what would be happening, just to make sure that was ok with her that I would leave our group for a bit to go and direct my little choir, and to ask her if I could borrow some chimes if we needed extras. She was nothing but supportive, telling me I could use whatever I needed, and that it would be no problem at all.

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Then she announced it to the group that I would be bringing my little chime choir to this event. My bell choir peeps were SO supportive. I don’t know why I was surprised. We have been together for 8 years, some of us, and we really are like a family. One friend said, “What song are you playing? If you want, we can stand behind and ring just in case they mess up. I was really blown away by their kind comments. It made me feel encouraged. A little bit.052

We rehearsed the Star Spangled Banner in earnest, and even had some early morning rehearsals this week so that all of the kids could ring together. Normally half come before school and half come after school, which makes it a little difficult to hear the whole song together. All but one of my kids committed to come, so we didn’t even have to do any switching around.

But I was still nervous. This being our first “on the road” performance of any kind, I had a big mental checklist of things I had to remember. Two boxes of chimes, all the music folders, get covers for the tables, bring the old quilts we use as table pads, bring chocolate for the kids (I had promised them chocolate), as well as the stuff I usually have to schlep with me to an all day ringing event (water bottles, diet coke, slip, shoes and nylons to go with my uniform, snacks, advil, etc. I seriously had a TON of stuff. And since Ryan was going to be bringing three of the chime kids up there, I didn’t want to drive another car, so I transferred the whole load into my carpool buddy’s car to take up to Davis High on Saturday.

Set up for this kind of thing is Huge. It’s about 240 bell ringers from many different choirs all set up in the gym. We started set up at 8 am, then starting our workshop at 9:15. We learned 5 songs that day, and it’s really neat to learn from the actual composer, who was our guest conductor for the day. A lot of the high school choirs spend a few rehearsals learning the music beforehand, but we found if we do that, we get too bored during the long day of rehearsing, so we go in cold (but don’t tell the other choirs–we wouldn’t want to sound cocky or anything.)
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I was so nervous about the chime thing that I really couldn’t concentrate on the music. So many things could go wrong, and I have trouble getting my brain to not focus on the worst case scenario. What if the kids don’t get there in time? What if some of them don’t come? What if they get nervous and fall apart? It wasn’t helping things when one of my friends texted me at about the time they should be leaving asking for the address of the school, and what time is it that they need to be there. Are you freaking kidding me? Do you not read ANY of the emails I sent you?

At around 4:15, the director dismissed us to go and get changed and get ready for the concert at 5:00. I knew that one of my kids was there, and I started to set things up, with a churning of stress and worry in my gut. I soon saw Ryan arrive with three of the kids, and then another parent with three more of the kids, and I was so happy to have them there. The kids, however, were more interested in seeing the really big bells and chimes than in rehearsing. I had to get them to focus so we could play the song at least once, and I told them we could all see the big bells AFTER the concert. By 4:40, all of the kids were there.
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We quickly ran through our song, then I got them seated in order, and went to go change. Originally I thought I would wear regular clothes and not my Bells on Temple Square flashy raspberry dress, but I didn’t really have the time to change back and forth. I didn’t do much with my hair, either, so it looks pretty sad.

I joined my choir and played two pieces with them, then slunk away when another group did their solo. When it was our turn, I stood up, got my kids up, and got them ready to play. Mary got up to introduce us and explained about the chime loan program, and that we were an elementary choir in our first year of rehearsing, etc. And then it was our turn. I whispered to them, “Don’t play on count TWO” and we started.

Because we were playing the Star Spangled Banner, people stood up. I kind of wish they hadn’t stood up, and my director mentioned that she hoped they would announce that the audience didn’t need to stand up, but they stood up anyway. Oh, well.

The kids did great. They played it just like we had in practice! I forgot to have them bow or anything (I’m new at this), but they got a lot of applause. Because they’re so cute, right?

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Then I had them go back to their seats in the stands, and I went back over to my group to play the last couple of songs and our solo.

After the concert, when I came back to get the chimes put away and show the kids the “REALLY really big bells and chimes” like I had promised, the parents were all gathered around. “What will it take to buy a set of chimes for our school?” one of them said, and “We want to do a fundraiser or something because we want this program to continue”,and “You need to meet this guy, he’s in charge of booking groups to play the National Anthem for the Jazz games.” I was overwhelmed. I hadn’t realized what a good opportunity this was to get the PARENTS together, for them to hear about the chime loan program and to talk to the other parents. I wish I had been more organized and I already had my kickstarter fundraiser program up and running so I could just tell them where they could donate, but I was a little frazzled at the time. But at least I know that they WANT to help, and sound like they are willing to do whatever it takes to keep this choir going next year.

Once I got changed and got everything loaded up in the car, I was elated. That had gone SO WELL! All my stress and worry were not necessary (when are they ever, really?) and it had gone even better than I thought it would. I was so happy with the positive reaction, and the mention of playing with the Jazz (probably won’t happen because they only have 10 more home games, but at least he thought enough of us to bring it up!). Exhausted from the very long day, but so pleased. And I finally feel like what I am doing really matters, and not just to me.

Happy Dance (to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner, because it will take DAYS to get that song out of my head).

The year of the chimes

January 1, 2013 / / 2 Comments

As I look over the past year, I realize that 2012 could be called the year of handbells for me. I know, every year is the year that I play handbells, but this year I REALLY played handbells. It began early in the year when I started thinking about attending the Area 11 handbell festival that was going to be held in Salt Lake City. How fun would that be? Stay at the Little America and go to classes and practice sessions for 3 days? I had to decide and register early, and if I went to that convention, it would mean I couldn’t be in a play in the summer like I usually do. I decided to go for it, and I joined the Handbell Musicians of America Guild in March, and signed up for the convention.

Then, in May, I attended the PTA convention, and while at a class on the arts, I had a very strong impression that I should be doing something with Handbells. Because of one amazing teacher and one year of playing bells in high school, that led to an opportunity to audition for a bell choir as an adult. I have had 8 amazing years with the Bells on Temple Square, but I can actually be more than just a bell ringer. I can be a teacher, and share my love of music in other ways.

The convention ended up being SO MUCH FUN, (http://paige.ericksonfamily.com/?p=6467)and really got me excited about how I could share my love of handbells with others.

The four hour class I attended on starting and directing a handbell choir wasn’t all that much help, but it did get me thinking about what I would do if I could actually start a choir. My enthusiasm was great, and while things didn’t exactly fall into place, I did secure a one year chime loan grant and was able to start a chime choir at the elementary school in September.

With no money, no budget, no music, and no experience, I set out to get kids to sign up and come play in my new chime choir! Since our school already has an established band and orchestra program, I thought we could just add to that and everyone would be excited. I quickly discovered that I would have to do some convincing, and enthusiasm alone are not enough to get a program going. The band teacher was downright rude and discouraging when I approached her about a new chime choir. “We already use the stage every single morning, so I don’t see how that would work.” But I persevered, send home a note asking for kids to sign up, and figured out with the principal an alternate location for our rehearsals.

I read the beginning books, and decided upon a lesson plan for our first couple rehearsals, and dragged the two heavy boxes of chimes to school for our first 7 am rehearsal. I had brought Jenna and John, and they were it. Not one other student. The three of us set up a table and put out the chimes and I showed them how to ring, and what the notes meant while we waited for the others to come. There were no others. At 8:00, my kids went to class, and one other student came. One. I had known that he has signed up, but he was the only one. One real student. I could do even less with him than with Jenna and John, but again, I showed him how the notes go in order, how to ring, how to dampen, and we played a few chords.

The next day, it was the same story. Jenna and John and I made some little posters advertising our choir, and stuck them up around the school. And in my 8:00 class, I had two students come. I was SO excited that I had two actual students! Still not much I can do when I’ve got two kids in each group, but at least I had four, if you counted my own kids. I went and talked to the principal and asked what he thought I should do. Since the school schedules are staggered, I had to offer the class to both groups. He suggested I try an after school time for the early kids. While at first I wasn’t thrilled about coming in to the school before school AND after school, I decided to give it a try.

Our numbers SLOWLY grew as more kids signed up. By the end of November, I finally had 12 kids signed up, which is enough to play all the notes. Of course, half of the kids came in the morning before school and half came after school, so they never really could hear how the song was supposed to be played until the last week when we all had to come early in the morning for rehearsal.

Our Christmas concert really was great. I wrote all about it here

I applied for a big grant from Clorox, just imagining what I could buy with $25,000. Sadly, I couldn’t rally up enough support, and we ended in 130th place. I have applied for many grants. Some for $500, and some for $5000. Many of them have turned me down. It’s discouraging, especially when two of my handbell friends received grants to buy thier handchime sets from a certain company, and that company turned me down. But I have many more applications out there, and several more to apply for this year.

Now I am picking out music and hoping more kids sign up for our second semester. Who would have thought at the beginning of 2012 how much would change for me. I had NO intentions of starting a chime choir, and now look at us–we’ve already performed (and done well) in our first concert! I brought the chimes home for Christmas and used them at two family Christmas parties

So, I will look back on 2012 as the year of the chime choir.

Who knows what 2013 will bring. I may not get funding for next year, and this might be it. I might get burned out from my volunteer job and decide it’s not really worth my time. But I just might get one of these grants, buy our own set of chimes, buy music and table covers, and maybe even buy a baton! We’ll have to see!

Amazed

December 20, 2012 / / 1 Comment

What a wonderful week! I feel so very lucky to not only attend the Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert every year, but I get to be there for every performance, and even perform with the choir. We do the concert four times, and the conference center seats 21,000, so that’s roughly 84,000 people who can attend. That seems like that would accommodate everyone who wants to see the concert, right? But there are over a million requests for tickets. Every year I hear people complaining that they have NEVER gotten tickets, even though they try every year. That’s why it’s so wonderful that PBS carries the concert the following year, so everyone can have a chance to see it.

Every year the choir puts on quite a show, but this one was extra special. It’s hard to describe how touching and joyful the concert was. The story of Gail Halverson, the candy bomber was especially touching, and to have Alfie Boe there singing Bring him Home brought me to tears.

As a bell choir, we usually play in the processional, play a little part in the dance number in the middle, and we always play in Angels from the realms of glory at the end. Some years we are lucky and get to play in a fourth song. This year, we played Jingle Bells for the overture, then made a quick switch and came back to play in the last part of the processional, and then we didn’t play again for the whole program. Our director jokes that we would have plenty of time to go to crown burger (which is an inside joke, because during the concert our very first year, a couple of the guys did go to crown burger in their tuxes, and brought back 15 junior hamburgers and fries–enough that we could each have half a burger and half an order of fries!) We did not, however, make it over to crown burger. They had set up a tv with sound up in our concrete bunker area where they store chair and things, and that was our little hangout place.

Thursday night, we all watched the concert in awe and wonderment, laughing at the camera flub ups, and cheering at the wonderful moments. We commented when they showed choir and orchestra members that we are friends with, and laughed when Alfie Boe said, “Couldn’t you find a bigger place?” He was light and funny, and joked about his next medley of Led Zeppelin songs. But when he sang Bring him Home, we were silent. We had all heard him sing that before on the Les Miserables show that PBS broadcasts during pledge week, but to be in the same building as he was singing it was simply amazing. When he was done, we clapped and cheered, and some of us wiped away tears.

During the concert, some people worked on their crocheting, or knitting, some read books, others played a game.

When the story of the the candy bomber was told, we all listened intently. Tom Brokaw’s telling of the story was calming and mesmerizing. I knew that the actual Candy Bomber, Gail Halverson, was going to be there, but I had no idea there would be little parachutes falling from the sky!

Well done!! We gasped right along with the audience, and wiped away tears. It was an amazing story, told in heartful honesty.

After that narration, we had to go and get our bells for our last number, so we didn’t really hear the rest of the concert, but we were so thrilled to have been able to see that much all together.

And that was just the FIRST night!

In light of Friday’s horrible events, we came to the conference center a bit downtrodden and sad, wondering how there could be so much evil in a person to kill innocent children. While we didn’t want to say goodbye to our precious families, we were so grateful to be doing something we loved, with people we love. At the beginning of Friday night’s concert, Lloyd Newel asked everyone to participate in a moment of silence for all those who were hurting and had lost loved ones. Everyone was silent. 21,000+ people, sharing a moment of respect and sadness. But sadness turned to joy once the amazing concert started once again.

I had determined to get a few pictures with some of the cast this year, so I took advantage of some down time to find a few groups and get some pictures with them.

Here I am with some dancers. I fit right in, right?

This is my favorite security guy, Toby, who I only see once a year at concert week, but he tells me stories of what drama has been going on on the square, or if someone threw up or got sick during the concert. Did you know there are defibrillators hidden around Temple Square? Cool!


In my spare time, maybe I’ll learn to play the bass?

Our “spot” was up and off stage right, which is where the men of the choir line up and then file in. I sat and watched while they all went by in their black tuxes, and it seriously made me dizzy.

Friday night, a few of us stayed overnight. We had some plans change and a last minute cancellation because our friend Liz here broke her foot right before the concerts started, and wasn’t able to be with us.

So Shaury and I shared a room, and Linda had her own room at the Hampton Inn. It’s so nice to NOT have to drive the hour home and the hour back! Especially when the weather is bad.

I had tried to fight the crowds at Deseret Book to get my Alfie Boe CD signed and maybe a picture, but it was just TOO crazy, and I gave up after a while. I was simply too tired.

Saturday morning we were able to sleep in a bit, have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, then do our hair and makeup while watching a movie on tv. At 1:00 we headed over to the conference center for our day of recording. We had also planned to take a new group picture of our group, so after we recorded our songs with the choir, we did some posing.

So we piled into an elevator up to the 5th floor where our photographer and director had scouted out a good spot. We ended up taking a lot more pictures than just the group picture.

Goofy faces…

And interesting things you can do with bells. Dunce caps, maybe?

And how about how bells are born?

Have you ever heard of a bell tree? It really is something we use in bells, but not quite like this.

Going up? Or maybe down?

After the recording session, the choir, orchestra, bells and dancers shuffle over to the church office building cafeteria for dinner. They treat us right there, and the price is nice (free!). But we usually eat too much and then are sluggish and tired before the Saturday evening performance. But we pulled it together!

We found some more friends who wanted to take pictures with us

Tried on the cute newsies caps, and oh yeah, did I mention I got to meet and take a picture with Alfie Boe?

He was so warm and gracious and allowed lots of picture taking, even if he really felt like just getting back to his dressing room to lie down. I’m so glad I got to see him and personally thank him for sharing his voice with us.

By the end of the night Saturday, we were exhausted. So glad we had our hotel room again so we didn’t have to drive all the way home just to turn around and come back by 7:30 Sunday morning. On our way out, who should we see, but Mitt Romney! He was coming out the back after the show. I tried to just put my bells away and keep out of his way, but other in our group got pictures or shook his hand. As I was walking down the corridor with a fellow bell ringer, we stopped and looked back to see where our friend Linda was. She was right behind us. And walking toward us down the hall, there was Mitt and his lovely wife Ann. When they got to us, he said, “Good job tonight,” and we said “thank you.” Governer Herbert and some security were right behind. Cool!

Sunday morning was another concert, and my family came to see that one. My heart was full. It had been such an amazing week full of blessings and joy. We were excited to play for the prophet again, and kind of sad that the week would be over. After the Music and the Spoken word broadcast, we had to make a really quick bell change. One of the guys had been suffering with plantar faciitis (No idea on the spelling there) for the week, so I offered to get the bell he needed from two flights down. Once our song was over, we literally RAN out of there, down the stairs, through the backstage area, found our new bells, and RAN back up. I had almost made it and was breathing heavily. Then came the last step, and I missed it. Splat. 5 bells on the ground, with me looking oh so graceful on that last step, surrounded by dancers and other bell players.
This one dancer was so sweet, “Are you ok?” Totally embarrassed and angry at myself, I brushed it off and grabbed those bells, and ran into place. Sigh. We had one more song later in the mini concert, and I limped down to change my bells. Ugh.

When Bring him Home was sung that last time, I started crying. With Cole leaving on a mission soon, it just hit too close to home, and emotions from the week came pouring out. I got myself together and made it through the last song. After the gifts were presented, the Choir did a special number for Tom Brokaw’s wife, Merideth. Her Birthday is on Christmas, and she has always said that when the choir sang the Hallelujah chorus, she thought it was sung just for her. So they sang it just for her. I was in the isle on the men’s side, between the baritones and the basses, and the Hallelujah chorus has never sounded better. The tears came again, I was so touched.

It was a wonderful week, and one I will never forget.

Hooray! Our first concert went great!

December 8, 2012 / / 5 Comments

Friday was our concert with the band and orchestra. We had some early morning practices during the week, and then we got there at about 6:40 on Friday morning to set things up.

We planned to have the tables on the floor for the assemblies during the day, and up on the stage for the performance for the parents at night, but after looking at everything, we realized that would be SUCH a pain to move everything, so the principal and custodian raised our tables about 18 inches and the kids stood on the first step. I think it worked out just fine, and we didn’t ruffle any feathers insisting we move the tables up on stage. Those lovely red table covers are courtesy of my friend Janeen. It helps to have friends who are already teaching chime choirs in schools, because they can give advice, share music, and even let me borrow table covers. Of course, now I want to buy some fabric and make my own, but that can come later.

Here’s my group (minus two of them, who were running around who knows where) posing in front of the tables while the orchestra practices behind.

Here’s a couple of pictures that one of the moms took of the group while we were practicing.

She even got one of my leading them.

Even though one of my students couldn’t be there for the evening performance, we covered things pretty well. I think they did SO great! I think people were impressed that they could recognize the songs we played, and that it even sounded good. We played Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, Jingle Bells, and Jolly Old St. Nicholas. Little did I know that the band and orchestra would be playing those Christmas songs as well. But since we went first, people weren’t tired of the songs YET. My husband said he was surprised at how well they sounded. (Amazed is more like it.)

I got this message from one of the moms today,
Paige – Thank you so much for teaching M— chimes. I was so impressed tonight at the concert. Talk about a proud Mom moment. I didn’t realize how amazing chimes were, how beautiful they sound, how fun they are to watch and how much they have all learned in such a short time. I was beaming.

Thanks for all your hard work!

Love – M’s Mom

That brought tears to my eyes! This is why I am doing this! To bring the love of music and handbells to kids and parents.

The whole concert went quite well. The band teacher talked about how important music programs are, and plugged her band and orchestra program, telling the parents all about when to sign up and what they would be doing next semester, and she didn’t mention a word about the chime program. But maybe next time I will take the mic and do my own announcing. But hopefully enough kids will have thought it was cool and will sign up in January. I would love to have enough kids to ring all the notes in BOTH the am and the pm groups.

For now, we take a break from the chimes so I can concentrate on ringing bells for the Tabernacle Choir concerts next week. That worked out nicely.

Voting is still going on in the Clorox contest, if you would please vote HERE, that would be helpful. I still don’t know how I will finance a set of chimes for next year, but I’m hopeful it will work out.

Here are some (low-quality — sorry!) videos of the 3 songs that Ryan captured on his phone:

Crisis averted (or not letting the Grinch steal my Christmas)

December 3, 2012 / / 2 Comments

Our Chime Choir gets to do their first performance this Friday. They will be performing with the band and orchestra in the school Christmas concert during the day at school, and in the evening for the parents. I dreaded today’s early 7 am rehearsal because I knew I had to work some things out about concert order and where we would be setting up. The band teacher has been quite short with me and quickly shot down my ideas of how we could all share the stage and the best way to arrange things.
I talked to her briefly in the hall last week and she said, “We are going to have you guys go in the middle, on the floor.”
Trying to assert myself, I said, “No, I don’t think that will work. We could be in the very front of the stage with the chairs and stands all set up behind us.”
“Well, we’ll work it out next week,” she said, with a dismissive attitude.

When we got there at 7, the band was already up on the lunch room stage rehearsing. What? How did they get set up so quickly? Anyway, I took my students over to the gym stage, where we usually rehearse, and decided we would just practice there. Once we got all set up and had started our first song, a couple timid kids came in and said that the band teacher had asked that we come into the lunchroom. Right. I’m going to move these three 6 foot tables with chimes on them to the lunch room. But, in the spirit of compromise, I told the kids to just bring the chimes they actually play and their music folders, and maybe we could try it without the tables. We went to the lunch room and sat around while another group played. When the band finished and the orchestra started to set up, I went up to talk to Mrs. M, the band teacher. Understandably, she was already pretty stressed. She asked if we could please be on time and ready to start at 7 am tomorrow, as we would go first. I told her I would, even thought that means I really have to be there at about 6:45 to set up the tables and chimes. I told her that we were just rehearsing in the gym, and if she had a minute when she was done, she could come down and see our set up.

So, she followed us to the gym, we got to our tables, and played our three songs.

“Cute,” she said.

Cute? I’m going to try to not take offense and accept that as a complement. Grrrrr.

“That will work with them on the stage like that for the evening performance, but I don’t think we can have those tables up there for the school programs. We just don’t have the time to move them.”

I agreed.

Whew.

A compromise had been reached, and I didn’t have to bully or be bullied in order to reach it.

I think she was jumping to conclusions because she didn’t really understand what we were doing, just that we were some new upstart trying to take away her students and edge into her program. Hopefully I handled myself well enough to show that we are a legitimate musical group, and we deserve the right to perform.

Now I just need to call the parents and make sure that every one of my kids makes it THERE to practice in the morning.

I’m thankful we made it through that week

November 18, 2012 / / 3 Comments

Well, we survived another busy concert week!

With rehearsal on Tuesday, Wed, Thursday and a concert on Friday night and then a Music and the Spoken Word braodcast on Sunday morning, I was gone about 22 hours for bells. *Whew!*

Saturday night I woke up and the room was spinning. Really. I was really thirsty, but didn’t want to risk getting up out of bed to get a drink, so I just tried to sleep and make the spinning stop. What a horrible feeling. By morning, there was no spinning, but I still felt awful. Not sure if it was a bug of some kind, or if it was just exhaustion. I spent most of the day lazing around. So thankful I didn’t have a whole long list of things I was supposed to get done that day!

The concert went very well. We even lightened things up with “Blue Christmas” and “Jingle Bells”. I haven’t found any reviews online yet, but you know if I do, I will post it (if it’s a good review, that is).

Now we get a week off for Thanksgiving and then we will work on our songs for the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concerts and our next Music and the Spoken word appearance.

In other news, my little chime choir is up to 12 kids, now. I’m a little worried about our concert in two weeks. I still haven’t gotten the morning group and the afternoon group together, so we haven’t played a whole song all together. But people probably don’t expect too much of us, so if we crash and burn I can blame it on the fact that I’m working with 3rd-6th graders here.

I’m still trying to drum up votes in our grant competition. If you haven’t taken the time to register your email and vote, please do so. You can find out about it here. You can just search for ‘handbells’ (it’s the only grant request to mention handbells), and then if you could force everyone in your family with a cell phone to text in once a day, I wouldn’t complain. We are currently ranked 128th, so that’s only 127 other grants we need to surpass to assure our money!

And in other news, we are getting excited for Thanksgiving! I bought all the stuff to make these little critters.

We also found these great hats at Target so all my turkeys could be ready for Thanksgiving!

I don’t have to cook a turkey, but probably will, just so we can have all the yummy turkey leftovers. For our big family party, I am assigned green beans, so I will make up a huge amount of my favorite bacon, apple green beans.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Travel? Guests? Lots of cooking? Whatever your plans may be, remember to be thankful for your family and those you love!

Bells–Clorox wants to help us purchase them

November 2, 2012 / / 5 Comments

As many of you may know, I have started a beginning chime choir at Highland Elementary school, where I volunteer with the PTA and substitute teach. While it’s been slow going and frustrating at times, I am thrilled with what they have learned in just two months.

We are using a borrowed set of chimes, thanks to a chime loan from the Area 11 Handbell Musicians of America guild, but would like to be able to purchase our own set for for next year and beyond. Perhaps because I’m not a full time teacher, my attempts at securing grants through the traditional avenues had not been successful. So when I found out about this Clorox educational grant for up to $50,000, I was all over it.

Here’s a grant that is more like a contest. And we all know how much I love a contest. Someone will win $25,000 to $50,000 for their school, why not our school? There are 2566 total entries, but only 402 entries in the “create” category. Can we get more votes than the other 401 entries? Well, we can try.

If we were to win this grant, we could buy not only a 3 octave set of chimes, but more than one set, tables, pads, and music for all of the music department, not just the chimes.

So, once again, I am asking for your help. But this isn’t just for me to win a trip or a car for a year or the usual contests that I ask for help. This is for the school. This is one of those vote daily contests that are ‘so much fun’. Besides voting on the computer, there’s a text your vote option, so that’s two votes every day. And voters only have to be 13, so this is a great way to put those texting teenagers to good use. The contest runs from November 5-December 12. I know you are busy, especially this month, but it will really only take a minute or two to click over and vote. I don’t know the text code yet, but when voting goes live on Monday, they should let us know what the text code for our school is.

Here’s a link directly to our school’s grant proposal.

https://powerabrightfuture.clorox.com/nominees/detail/?nid=2269

While this is my personal project, this would be a wonderful thing for our school, and another way to spread the joy of handbells. There are many great grant ideas that we are competing against, but I hope you can support me in this effort with your vote and even help spread the word to others who would support us in our quest for handbell world domination (ok, just kidding about that last part).

You can text 2269pbf to the number 95248 to vote as well. Use your kids’ phones, your neighbor’s phones, your work phone…just vote!

If you would like me to remind you daily to vote, I would gladly do that–just let me know. I would love it if you could help spread the word. I can only reach the people in my circles, and while I may know quite a few people, I don’t know nearly enough. Post a link on your blog, on your facebook page, or even twitter (I don’t tweet, but maybe that’s part of your world and you could help me). Please help me help our school win.

Chime in–an update

September 28, 2012 / / 7 Comments

It feels like I’ve been working forever trying to get this chime choir going. Feels like that, even though it’s only been a few months. Sometimes I have a hard time not understanding why other people don’t catch my enthusiasm, and then get discouraged because things turn out to be so hard.

In May, I realized that I wanted to start a hand chime choir in the school. I have a few friends who are directing chime choirs, and they were very encouraging. Two of them even got grants for their schools from the same foundation. “Great!” I thought, “I’ll just write a grant, people will give me money to buy a set of chimes, and we will start a hand chime choir in the school. Jenna and John can be in it, and this will be SO MUCH FUN!” So I wrote and sent in a grant proposal. And another grant, and another grant. In fact, I spent many hours in the summer searching for grants that we would even qualify, and applying. No, we are not a title 1 school, and, no, we don’t have a certain percentage of free or reduced lunches, no, I do not have an established program, no, I am not a full time teacher, no, I’m not looking to update our technology. All I want is $5,000 to buy chimes, folders, music, and maybe one of those cool conducting batons. I am surrounded by wealthy people here in the Highland/Alpine area, why is it that I can’t find someone who would like to donate to my cause?

Soon after I started applying for grants, I started getting rejection letters from grant sites. Letters like,

“Dear Mrs. Erickson,
Thank you for your interest in (insert name).
Unfortunately, it is not possible for (insert company name) to provide support at this time. While we recognize the value of the program for which you are seeking funds, economic circumstances and the numerous requests we receive throughout the year limit the amount of resources we have to support worthwhile causes and organizations. ”

I started asking for smaller amounts of money. $2,000 instead of $5,000, And looking for different companies to request grant money. There were so many hoops to jump through, forms to find, numbers to get right, the process seemed endless.
At our first PTA meeting in August, the PTA president gave me a letter that had come to the school. It was from a certain company that I had sent in a grant request, the one that TWO of my chime choir directing friends had told me was the one where they got money for chimes. I opened the letter with excitement.

Dear Paige,

Thank you for your recent application for a —- grant. This letter is to notify you that we are unable to approve your grant application.
Blah, Blah, Blah.

The bright spot in this quest has been the set of loaner chimes I was able to get from the Guild of English Handbell Ringers. I actually met the ladies in charge of the chime grant back at the bell conference I attended in June, and she gave me hope at that time that I would be receiving the loaner 3 octave set. But then I didn’t hear anything all summer, and had to get really naggy in August and ask if I could indeed borrow the set or not. Well, my nagging paid off, and I was able to pick up the set of chimes from their storage place in Brigham City in August, right before school started.

But then when I dragged those chimes to Back to school night all prepared to set up my choir and get sign ups, the band teacher was kind of snippy with me and the principal said we’d have to work things out and go through the district music program. Sigh. So, I tried to get kids interested, even though I didn’t have the details, and wasn’t sure if I could even DO a choir. Well, eventually I got approval from the District to run the program, but one of the qualifications is that I have 20 kids in choir. I wrote up a letter to go home to all the parents to be sent via email. Sadly, I don’t know how many parents actually read their email, and when the Friday before we were to start, the office lady told me that there were two kids signed up. No worries, I told myself, maybe people will just come and bring their sign up sheet on Tuesday morning.

Since our school has two tracks, and you want the opportunities for extra-curriculars to be offered to everyone, the before school things are early and earlier. So the first session of band/orchestra and my bell choir were set up for 7 am. I got up early and hurried everyone along so we could be there before 7. Jenna and John were excited, and helped me carry in the cases of chimes, and we set up the tables. But no one came. Not a single kid. Trying to hide my disappointment, I told the kids that we might need some signs to point the way to the gym stage, since I hadn’t been clear on the email that went out. They were happy to make signs advertising the chime choir and go and hang those up. We did a bit of ringing with just the two of them, and then I let them go be with their friends before school started.

The 8:00 class looked a bit more promising. I had two kids make their way to the stage, and they were excited. I got their names and their phone numbers from their moms, and we waited a few minutes to see if any more kids were coming. These two kids were so excited; they could not wait to start. I had met them both at back to school night and they both have had music lessons. So, I got started with how to ring, how to dampen the sound, how to ring one and damp the other, some counting, and some chords, and that was about all we could do with only two kids.

After we were done and the chimes were put away (I taught them how to do that, too), I talked to the principal and asked him what he thought. Should I switch the 7:00 class to after school? Should I allow 3rd graders? Any suggestions? He said I should think about changing the earlier class to after school instead, and maybe send home another note. So, with my tail dragging, I went and made copies of my information/sign up sheet, and put them in the boxes of the 4th-6th grade teachers to send home, to try to get more kids interested. Then when I went home (tired, since I had to get up so early), I rewrote my letter to the parents and said I would allow 3rd graders IF their kids had previous piano lessons, and we would change the time to afternoon for the early group.

The next morning, I dragged the kids out of bed to get there by 7:00 AGAIN, with the same result. This time I had them help me put music in the bell folders (special folders that I purchased with my non existent budget) and we tried a few chords and even some scales, if we leap frog past each other. The same two kids came to the 8:00 class, too. We figured out Twinkle, Twinkle, and played as many notes as we could cover in one practice song.

Pitiful.

Since I had said in the email that we would be holding class in the afternoon, I had to actually go back to the school and HOLD class. Although that was just wishful thinking on my part. Again.

Do you see how by now I’m starting to get really Discouraged? No grants, no money, and no students. Why was it that I thought I could do this?

I went to bells rehearsal that night, still discouraged and not really wanting to tell my friends about my failure, because they have been so supportive and so excited for me to start this thing. I had to admit my failure and tell them that I had tried to direct a choir of 2. My friend Janeen, who started her school choir a few years ago, said, “Do you have the ‘Ring and Sing’ books?” Well, no, I don’t really have anything. “Well, every year, I teach my kids how to use the easy ring and sing, and then we walk about to the other classes and play a song for them. It gets kids interested, and it’s more exposure for the chime choir.” She even told me I could borrow her ring and sing books.

The next day, I was reading my friend Tess’s blog, and she wrote something that really hit me. Even though she’s talking about a book, and I’m talking about a choir, the idea is the same. She said,
“I am so glad I didn’t give up! For all the times this story was rejected … for all the times my earlier work was rejected … for all the times I wondered if I could really have a book published on a national level — I am so glad I didn’t quit. Dreams take time. But here’s the thing, If you keep trying and learning and believing, they will come true.”

I could cry. In fact, I did.

Dreams take time. Yes, it seems like I’ve been working on this project forever, and it feels like it’s never going to get off the ground, but in reality, it’s only been since May that I’ve been trying to get this thing going. I have these chimes for a year, and hopefully by the end of this year, I can get funding to buy another set for next year. And hopefully I can get 20 kids interested enough in joining a chime choir that I can run this program. If I don’t? Well, maybe I can make it work with less kids. I don’t know.

I do know that this week has been difficult, but I haven’t given up. I will get creative, and I will keep on trying. There are more grants to apply for, and more children to reach.

Maybe for Christmas I’ll buy myself half a set of chimes. Maybe I will go door to door to seek donations. Maybe we’ll… well, I’m open to suggestions. But I am not ready to give up. Dreams take time, and I need to be patient.

I can do this.

Chime in

May 18, 2012 / / 5 Comments

Last week I attended the Utah PTA convention held at BYU. It’s been years since I have attended, and I actually had a nice time and got a lot of valuable information for the one day that I was there. One of my classes was “Arts in the Schools”. It wasn’t really my area, since I am in charge of fundraising again this year, but I was interested, and found the class amazing. There were 2 presenters who spoke of how arts programs can change lives, giving their own stories as illustration.

While I was in that class, I experienced a very strong prompting that I needed to help in this area. I have been given many opportunities and blessings and it is time for me to share that with others. I was moved almost to tears as the Spirit spoke to my soul and I realized that, like the lyrics of one of my favorite hymns, “Because I have been given much, I too must give.” I left that class SO excited to start some kind of a handbell program.

The next day, I wrote a quick email to the principal of the elementary school where I am heavily involved. I told him my idea and asked if he thought it was a possibility, if I could somehow raise the money to buy the instruments. He responded positively, and I met with him on Monday with a Grant proposal for him to sign. He was very supportive, and while he can’t offer me money to get started, said that we could find space and time in our before or after school music programs. I took the form down to the district office to get it signed. I am applying for a set of loaner handchimes, which the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers will loan to a school just beginning the chime program. I also asked three of my friends from Bells on Temple square how they began their choirs at school, and got some ideas. I need Grants.

So, this week I am searching for Grants. I have applied for one so far, and am looking for another that I qualify for. I never knew this, but there are TONS of grants out there, but very few of them apply specifically to what I’m trying to do. If I get that loaner set of handchimes, then I can start right away. If not, I will have to scrounge up the money. I figure I need about $4,000 just to get started. Anyone have an extra $4,000 that they would like to give me? I didn’t think so.

So, I don’t know if things will fall into place for me to start this in the fall, but I do know that I can make it work eventually. I am so excited about this idea, even though I have no experience teaching chimes or even leading a choir. But if I am meant to make this happen, then I will be lead to the people who can help me, and I will muddle through just like everyone else does when they start a new endeavor.

Wish me luck.

Winter..whenever it comes

March 2, 2012 / / 2 Comments

We’ve had an odd winter this year. Not much snow in December or January, then we get pounded the end of Feb and beginning of March. I had a white knuckle drive to Salt Lake on Wednesday night. I was going about 10 miles per hour for quite a stretch on the freeway, just hoping I could stay in my lane and eventually get downtown for rehearsal. Thursday night’s drive home from SLC was not bad until I hit Utah county, and then it was pretty blizzardy.

After the wind all night, what snow we had is now in waves and drifts.

And when I look out at the chicken coop, I see this.

It looks cold out there. I don’t want to go out and feed them, and I’m pretty sure they don’t want to be let into their run, since it’s all snowy and their little feet would be very cold.

Speaking of cold little feet, I told my kids that today was definitely a BOOTS day, with hats and gloves and COATS (not just hoodies like they usually wear). Some of them found those articles, some did not. But off to school they did go. Through the snow.

I was quite enjoying our “California Winter”.

Just a reminder that you don’t want to miss Sunday’s Music and the Spoken Word Broadcast. We will be playing three songs! Two with the choir and one by ourselves, and it’s a majorly hard song, so I hope it works ok.

Now, I’m off to go make Eagle cookies.

Because when I was at the scout store (again) I couldn’t resist this cute Eagle cookie cutter. So, if any of you find yourself in need of an eagle cookie cutter, let me know, I could totally lend it to you.

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