Christmas Bells

One of our church's - and handbell program's - most loved traditions is our Christmas bell choir. Anyone who has ever played bells and will be home for Christmas is invited to play for the 10 p.m. Christmas Eve service. We have one rehearsal, on Christmas Eve morning. There's usually orange juice and doughnuts or muffins. There are also lots of hugs, as everyone mills around, greeting old friends and meeting new ones. Eventually we're arranged into several bell choirs and the rehearsal begins. We use both our bell sets and borrow an extra set. This year we're expecting 35 ringers! Isn't that amazing? It's always exciting to see which piece has been chosen. (And I've heard what we're doing this year...and can't remember!) The rehearsal will last an hour and a half, and by the end there's a pretty impressive-sounding piece and a lot of new memories. Bill says this is a highlight of his holiday. I think it's a highlight of everyone's Christmas. In our grand tradition of catchy names, this group is called - wait for it - Extollers. :)

Here's a group photo of the 2006 Extollers:

Merry Christmas, everyone!

- Nancy

This Will Get You in the Spirit

The first snowstorm of the year is raging outside, so it must be almost time for Christmas! Former Strikepointer Mark Anderson has decorated his house with an impressive light show and one of the tunes he's using is our performance of West Indies Carol.

Pretty cool, huh?

- Nancy

Baby # 4

The last of the 2009 Strikepoint babies is here! Welcome, Avery Jean, born October 7.

Erin is taking a few weeks off, but will be back with us soon. We think babies really LIKE the sound of bells!

Afterwards

We are home. (Well, we've been home for a week now...) The laundry is done and we're re-adjusting to days that are NOT spent riding in a bus! Back to real life. It's funny, though, how during tour it seems like real life *is* tour! We did 12 concerts in 14 days. We drove more than 4000 miles. The air conditioning only went out when it was really hot. :) We met some great people and saw some magnificent countryside. We played some really good music, and sometimes it was magic. Erin did not have her baby. (But we were prepared!) We learned the pertinent facts about five states. Go ahead - ask us what the state bird of North Dakota is! We climbed a volcano and a mountain and ate a lot of ice cream. We saw lots of friends and family and three former Strikepointers (who are both friends and family!). We saw Stonehenge. Really. There's one in Washington. Who knew?

- Nancy

Day 10 Pictures

International Test Rose Garden, Portland

(look for Mount Hood in the background!)

Multnomah Falls

The view from the top of the falls!

Tour de force

Strikepoint is now halfway through our whirlwind tour of the Pacific Northwest, enjoying a well-deserved day off! After many hours (and over two thousand miles!) in our newly un-airconditioned bus this last week, we were able to stretch our legs and do some more sightseeing the last few days. We've managed to hike to the top of Multnomah Falls, frolic in the Pacific Ocean, eat our weight in cheese and ice cream at the Tillamook Creamery, visit Stonehenge in the Columbia River Gorge, and drink in the beauty of the International Rose Test Garden in Portland. Whew!

We've also discovered several cool new places to eat and highly recommend: The Pickle Barrel in Bozeman, MT; The Hot Rod Cafe in Post Falls, ID; The Crazy Pepper in Hood River, OR; and the Elephant's Delicatessen in Portland, OR. We also played some highly competitive mini golf in Bismarck, ND.

And we've seen former 'Pointers Monica Belzer and Erik Rau, now both living in Oregon. Former FUMC ringer Ruth Brickell gets the prize for the person who traveled the furthest to a concert - from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Yakima, WA!

So far we are all unscathed - except for the to-be-expected mysterious bruises, of course.

We'll try to keep you posted with more tour updates/highlights/hijinks!
-Elissa and Nancy

Meet Max

Our new trailer has finally arrived! Isn't it beautiful? Packing all the equipment and luggage should be SO much easier than with the old trailer. We'll test that premise after our final rehearsal tomorrow night.

- Nancy

Summer Tour 2009

We're just about ready for this year's summer tour. Take a look at the list of concert sites (if you go to our calendar page, there are maps to help you find the churches). We'd love to see you (and your friends!) if you're in the area. If you know people who live in our concert areas, please help spread the word. We can guarantee an evening of fun and good music!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Fargo, ND

7:00 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church

650 2nd Ave. N.

Fargo, ND

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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Bismarck, ND

7:00 p.m.

United Church of Christ

1200 E. Highland Acres Rd.

Bismarck, ND

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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Billings, MT

7:30 p.m.

First United Methodist Church

2800 Fourth Ave. N.

Billings, MT

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Thursday, August 6, 2009

Missoula, MT

7:00 p.m.

First United Methodist Church

300 E. Main St.

Missoula, MT

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Friday, August 7, 2009

Yakima, WA

7:30 p.m.

Central Lutheran Church

1604 W. Yakima Ave.

Yakima, WA

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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Beaverton, OR

7:00 p.m.

St. Matthew Lutheran Church

10390 SW Canyon Rd.

Beaverton, OR

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Sunday, August 9, 2009

Tillamook, OR

7:30 p.m.

Tillamook United Methodist Church

3808 12th St.

Tillamook, OR

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Boise, ID

7:00 p.m.

Cathedral of the Rockies

717 N. 11th St.

Boise, ID

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Bozeman, MT

7:30 p.m.

Bozeman United Methodist Church

121 S. Willson Ave.

Bozeman, MT

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Friday, August 14, 2009

Dickinson, ND

7:00 p.m.

St. John Lutheran Church

146 6th Ave. W.

Dickinson, ND

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Saturday, August 15, 2009

Park Rapids, MN

7:00 p.m.

Riverside United Methodist Church

1005 Park Ave. N.

Park Rapids, MN

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Sunday, August 16, 2009

Duluth, MN

3:00 p.m.

First United Methodist Church

230 E. Skyline Parkway

Duluth, MN

Hope to see you at a concert!

- Nancy

The New Strikepoint Press Photo 2009-2010

The new Strikepoint Facebook Page is now up and running. It's been fun to watch the numbers of fans grow by the minute. You can find it at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Strikepoint/126772479011. -Bill

The Strikepoint Summer Tour is almost filled. We have just one more site, and that one looks very promising. Handbell-L has been down lately, so we will need your help in publicizing the concerts. Stay tuned for the complete concert itinerary–Bill

New Ringers

The Strikepoint family has been growing this year. 

This is Aida Rose, born May 6.

And this is Zachary Daniel, born June 12.

This is Jacob Liam, born June 14.

All the moms are former (well, if there *is* such a thing - once a 'Pointer, always a 'Pointer, we think!) Strikepoint members. There will be one more baby photo this fall.

What do you think - bass or treble ringers?

Posted by Nancy

I would also like to welcome you to the new Strikepoint Blog page. Check back often for information on our summer tour. Dickinson, ND was recently added. Hope to hear from all of you soon.

Bill

From our luxury loft at Breezy Point

Just for fun

How fun is this?

Hmmm...this one was much more impressive in the original jpg version:All the words are the same in all three versions, just different colors and arranged differently.

They're done by a website called Wordle. I just used whatever bell-related words I could think of quickly. Any suggestions for words I forgot? 

Oh - Pizza!

And I'm thinking about doing one with all of our names. Maybe one with the names of anyone who's *ever* been in Strikepoint! That'd be fun!

Posted by Nancy

Concert in Pequot Lakes

Strikepoint will be performing in Pequot Lakes, MN this Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Pequot Lakes High School theatre. This will be part of the Greater Lakes Area Performing Arts series. There's some great music in our program this year; you won't want to miss it! You'll even get to see (and hear) that nifty new instrument we debuted in Bloomington last week.

Then on Sunday morning we'll be a part of the morning worship service (9 a.m.) at Grace United Methodist Church.

Here's a map with specifics of the concert sites:

 

View Pequot Lakes concert sites in a larger map

Bolerofest

On Saturday, April 4, we had the honor and the pleasure to be a part of a very special event. Four community handbell groups presented a concert that featured solo pieces from each of the ensembles and four massed ringing selections. We played to a packed house in Bloomington's  Center for the Arts. The other participants were Bells of the Lakes (who also planned and hosted the event), Twin Cities Bronze and River Bend Bells.

The director of each group conducted one of the massed pieces. Bill directed a beautiful arrangement of It Is Well With My Soul that featured former 'Pointer Jenna Mattson on a violin solo. 

The concert's finale was Bill Mathis directing his own version of Ravel's Bolero, which he had arranged for four handbell choirs. Since we had only seen our own set of this music (Choir I), we didn't know what to expect from the other groups. Just imagine that piece with melody and harmonies coming from all different parts of the stage! Adding chimes and mallets produced additional textures. It was amazing - and we were very glad for all the previous months of rehearsal!

Strikepoint also introduced a new instrument:

Schulmerich Carillons had loaned us some very large and expensive bass bells when we played with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra in December. Unfortunately, they wanted those bells back. We wanted to keep playing that piece (Wizards in Winter) and so invented something that could replicate the pitches. So we now have (sorta...) a D-1, E-1 and F-sharp-1. Very cool. And not heavy at all!

It was a very fun day. It's not often we get to play with such a high caliber group of ringers! Afterwards, an audience member commented that she'd never heard such good massed ringing. By the time we got home (1:45 a.m.), we were all pretty tired, but happy.

Posted by Nancy

Welcome!

Welcome to Strikepoint's new blog. This is a spot where we can share some news, photos, sound clips, or anything else that doesn't seem to belong anywhere else on our website. Stop back and see what's new in Strikepoint's world!