Our 11th Year at the Bay View Week of Handbells

It’s hard to believe that the 2022 Bay View Week of Handbells was the 11th year we’ve attended this evening together! Of course, that would have happened sooner, if the pandemic hadn’t happened. The 2020 and 2021 Week of Handbells events were cancelled because of Covid-19, so it was a particularly good feeling to get back to it this year.

Our history with the Bay View Week of Handbells

We attended this annual event for the first time in August 2010, when we were still in our long-distance relationship. Carla flew to Chicago from England, and Larry flew in from California. We met in person for the very first time at Chicago O’Hare, and took the short flight to Traverse City together. Until then, we’d only ever communicated online, via Facebook messages, so it was exciting for us to be able to see each other in “real life” and spend time together.

After the 2010 Week of Handbells, we flew back to England and California, and spent a very long year apart. Finally, we were able to meet again at the 2011 Week of Handbells, where we celebrated our engagement with cupcakes at the Monday evening reception. Then we were separated again, returned to England and California, and went through all the challenges of the K-1 fiancée visa process. When the U.S. visa was approved, we were able to make plans to close the distance permanently. Planning the trip was complicated, but we made it all coincide with the 2012 Week of Handbells, and after the event was over, we flew to California to make our wedding plans. Apart from the two years when the event was cancelled, we’ve attended together every year since.

Celebrating our engagement at the Bay View Week of Handbells 2010

The 2022 Bay View Week of Handbells

This year’s Week of Handbells was a bit different for us, for an important reason; we now have our own Bay View cottage! We bought this Victorian cottage in October 2019, when we became members of the Bay View Association. It was built around 1887, and is a quirky little place, with uneven floors and some interesting features!

We appreciated being able to be “at home” between rehearsals, and to relax in our own place at the end of the day. In previous years, we’ve stayed in hotels, and also rented another of the Victorian cottages on campus. Our cottage is at the bottom of the hill, so we got plenty of exercise walking to and from rehearsals in the auditorium! We also had a steady stream of visitors, and enjoyed giving cottage tours to our handbell friends.

The 2022 event

Once again, Larry had the opportunity to play the aluminum bass bells, in the Deep Pit. Carla played AB5, as coordinator of the Position 7 team. Rehearsals went smoothly this year, and everyone was thankful to be back after the long break. We also heard that Bay View Association members were happy to see the return of the bell ringers, and eagerly awaited the Thursday evening concert.

Larry Sue with bass handbells at Bay View

Larry and Carla Bay View Week of Handbells concert

The repertoire for the 2022 Week of Handbells was as follows:

Festive Praises (Fred Gramann)
Tales of the Great Water (Sandra Eithun)
Finale (Widor, arr. Fred Gramann)
The Entertainer (Joplin, transcribed by Paul Kingbury) – available from Choraegus
Intrepid (Jason Krug)
Change Ring Prelude on ‘Fred Gramann’ (Jantz Black)
Aurora (Matthew Compton)
Aria (Donald Allured)
São Paulo (Elizabeth Peters)
The Sound of Silence (Paul Simon, arr. Matthew Compton)
Bulwarkana (Alex Guebert)
Puttin’ on the Ritz (Berlin, arr. Hart Morris)
The Lord Bless You and Keep You (Peter Lutkin)

There were five winners of the Donald E. Allured Composition Award at this year’s concert. Was this a record? Sandra Eithun’s Tales of the Great Water was performed for the first time at the 2022 Week of Handbells, and we were all happy that she came to the concert to hear it!

Donald E Allured Composition Award winners — Catherine McMichael, Sandra Eithun, Larry Sue, Alex Guebert and Matthew Compton

As usual, the week was a very busy one. Rehearsals are long and intense, and there isn’t a lot of spare time, although we always appreciate the Bay View sunsets, the opportunity to gather with friends on the Wednesday “evening off”, and the Bay View Memorial Garden, where the flowers never disappoint.

What’s next?

Now that we’ve put away our 2022 Week of Handbells music, we’re moving on to more duet performances, writing and playing new music, and preparing for the holiday season. We’ll still be spending as much time as we can at Bay View – driving back and forth between Holland and Petoskey – until the time comes to close up the cottage for the winter months. Before too long, it will be time to sign up for the 2023 event – and we’re already looking forward to it!