What is Strikepoint?

A couple of Bill's students did this as a senior project:

Tour approacheth

Do you know how much work is put in planning a tour? And especially one that's going overseas! We've* been putting in an incredible amount of time, arranging for transportation (airline tickets, getting all our equipment to Britain, rental vans for while we're there), packaging the bells, equipment and concert essentials into units that are as small as possible, setting up concerts and homestays, arranging for lodging for nights we're not staying with British ringing friends.... The list goes on and on.

There's some preliminary information about our concert schedule on our Calendar page.

* And by "we," I mean mostly Cindy and Bill.

- Nancy

Come hear us play!

Strikepoint will be on the road a bit this spring. We have four concerts scheduled before we leave on tour in July. We've spent the winter working hard on a lot of very cool new music - you're sure to enjoy it! So if you're in the area, stop in to a Strikepoint concert. We can guarantee you'll have a great time!

May 22 - Bemidji, MN

May 23 - Grand Rapids, MN

June 5 - Richfield, MN

June 19 - Grand Marais, MN

Here are the details on all of the concerts.

We're debuting one of the new pieces in church this Sunday (May 16). [First United Methodist, 230 E. Skyline Pkwy, Duluth, MN] I have my fingers crossed....

- Nancy

It's Winter

Wizards in Winter - Trans Siberian Orchestra, arranged by Hart Morris

Christmas in Duluth - 2009

Here's a video of the rehearsal for this year's Christmas Eve bellchoir, Extollers. We had 36 signed up to ring, but a Christmas Eve blizzard kept a few from the rehearsal. The weather let up during the day and the decision was made to proceed with the candlelight service. We only had one person unable to return due to the weather, but we gained a few who couldn't make it in the morning.

As you watch keep in mind that there is indeed a blizzard outside dumping up to 2 feet of snow in the Duluth area.

The piece is O Little Town of Bethlehem, arranged by Cathy Moklebust

- Bill

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