DAY 11 (NASHVILLE, TN) August 3, 2022

Today we had our first massed rehearsal of the symposium! After a quick breakfast (some of us had a very healthy breakfast of Cinnabon), we headed over to the Events Center for rehearsal. We played about half of our pieces in the morning. One of which was directed by Mr. Toshikazu Yoshida, the director of Kinjogakwuin University Choir. He is so fun to play under, and despite the language barrier, we could still see his enthusiasm for the piece. Around noon most of us had our first workshop. I (Julia) went to a class teaching number notations with Kayla, Noreen, Jordan, and London. Number notations is a different way to read music using numbers instead of the traditional notes in a staff. We had a lot of fun despite it being a bit confusing. After the workshop we ran back to Delta Island for a quick lunch before we rehearsed our solo, Transitions of the Heart. They only gave us 10 minutes, so we did a quick sound check before running it though and spot-checking a couple of things. In the afternoon we had the rest of our massed rehearsal. The last director of the day was Bill Payn, who we rang under at the Riverside Festival. I for one was surprised he remembered us. He even came up to us individually for some conversations throughout the day. As soon as he released us, we all ran to the bathrooms to change into our concert clothes for the solo concert. A few other individuals and handbell groups played to show off their unique talents. The concert featured many different ensembles. After we took a quick picture then we headed out back to our hotel rooms to change. We then grabbed dinner and headed out to the welcome ceremony where we could talk to other handbell groups and get to know them. The best part of it was exchanging our pins and getting different foods. Many handbell arrangers and composers came to the welcome ceremony as vendors or just a visitor. My favorite (Sasha) person I interacted with was Mr. Yoshida. I got a picture with him as well as Sarah. There were many different vendors set up in the large room. One was a woman selling cute handbell slogans that you can put on a shirt. Others were handbell companies advertising their goods and some other people were selling fun handbell items! One particular vendor was a program to Adopt a Bell where you can donate a particular amount of money to a specific chime or bell to give to a school. We also found Transitions of the Heart at Jeffers Handbell Inc. We had many people praising the piece’s purpose and message. (Noreen made 2 Australian women cry! (A good cry because of our solo)) After we spent a considerable time at the convention we headed back on our own to decompress and rest after a long first day.

Today's reporters are Julia & Sasha