The Area XI 2002-2004 Board established the Ring of Fame to honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the art of Handbell/Handchime ringing. It is intended to recognize and honor commitment to handbells based on exceptional service to AGEHR Area XI, the Sub areas, and/or to Handbell/Handchime ringing in general.

Phyllis Anschicks became a member of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers in the early 1960's.

She found that there was little handbell music written, so she began composing her own. As a professional musician, she had conducted many church music programs, but found that composing handbell music was her "niche".

One pleasure that Phyllis found in her association with handbell choirs was the closeness and cooperation that developed in a group. Children could play next to a senior and get along perfectly.

After years of working as a church musician, Phyllis left her church post to start two new community groups and continue working with Gal-axies , an established Women's Choir.

Phyllis served as Area XI Chair, and was Festival Chair for the 1983 Area XI Festival held at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Her composition, "Mountain Grandeur," a part of a work entitled "LEGACY" (A Tone Poem for Handbells) commissioned by the Fort Collins, Co. Centennial-Bicentennial Council for the Centennial-Bicentennial English Handbell Festival November 4, 1976 is a favorite of handbell choirs in AGEHR Area XI. To honor Phyllis' contributions, the Area XI 2002-2004 Board established the "Phyllis Anschicks Memorial Composition Fund." All proceeds from the sale of this composition are donated to the Fund. A portion of the Fund supported a commission in 2006.

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Ed invented the Boom-A-Gong, a xylophone looking instrument with metal bars and resonators tuned to the American handbell formants (fundamental and 12th) that covered the range from C2-B2.

Ed has been innovative in designing tables and removable music stands for his choirs as well as the stands for the various instruments in the "orchestra". He utilizes the different sounds of the various instruments, as well as the instrumental, vocal, and dance talents of his ringers to enhance the music his groups perform. Since there really is no music for this unique size of instrument, Ed creates his own arrangements of classical music (such as Bach's 2nd Brandenburg Concerto), hymn tunes, etc.

The Wesley Bell Ringers, usually numbering up to 30+, toured nationally - rotating the northern third of the country one year, with the central third and then the southern third in succeeding years. This allowed the kids to see and experience all the contiguous states in 3 years. The Wesley Bell Ringers have also toured through Alaska, Hawaii, and all provinces of Canada and Mexico. Through the years, Ed has involved approximately 400 youth in the Wesley Bell Ringers. He has never turned away a youth that wanted to be in his bell choir. When they didn't have enough bells, they just bought more.

Billed as "Salt Lake City's 'Other Choir'", the Wesley Bell Ringers have created more visibility for handbells nationally and allowed more people to experience handbells as an instrument than any other handbell choir. This statement is not an exaggeration!

Today, the Wesley Bell Ringers continue to maintain the tradition of touring that Ed started so many years ago. Ed enjoys putting together a tour book for each participant that includes facts about each city they see and how many miles they traveled each day and the sights they saw.

Ed has always had a passion for working with youth, so he decided to teach high school physics and did so for 29 years. He retired in 2000, but still teaches the AP Physics courses at a local high school.

Ed Duncan served the AGEHR as Area XI's first Area Chair in 1971, after the re-alignment of areas, expanding from 9 areas to 11 areas.

Although he retired as the director of the Wesley Bell Ringers in 1996, he continues to be active in their ministry, helping with the summer tours and "choreographing" their concerts. He presently directs the Adult Bell Choir at Christ United Methodist Church.

One interesting tidbit about Ed is that he loves to do needlepoint. He designs his own creations and has taught the youth how to do needlepoint on the long bus rides while on tour.

Ed and his wife, Trudy have been married for 51 years and they have two grown children.

One more thing....the Wesley Bell Ringers continue to fund their activities through the sale of hoagie sandwiches and rummage sales.

Aside from his teaching responsibilities, his past professional association positions include: the chairmanship of the Committee for Handbells in Formal Education (now CHIME) of AGEHR; Arizona chairman of AGEHR; 2 terms as president of the Arizona Music Educators Association; and president of the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association. He recently retired as the executive director of the Arizona Music Educators Association (MENC) a position which he held for 12 years. For the past 4 years he served on the music committee for the National Association of High Schools.

In 1972 he was named the Arizona Music Educator of the Year and in 2005 was awarded the Outstanding Music Education Alumnus Award by Arizona State University and the prestigious Distinguished Service Award by AMEA. AMEA also presented him a "brick" in the MENC Walk of Fame.

He has been active in festival production for all idioms of music in Arizona. He is a active as a clinician and adjudicator. He is at home in Glendale with his wife Dana. He has 2 children, 7 grandchildren (one who has returned from service in the Persian Gulf) and 2 great grandchildren.

Click to read a Humorous remembrance by John Faris

Doug writes:

"After the 1975 National Festival in Logan, Utah, Lynn Hauck from Tucson with whom we travelled to Utah, and I decided to take our respective choirs on a national tour in 1977. Her 5-octave choir (Bells of the Twisted Cross, Casas Adobes Congregational Church, Tucson, 120 miles south of Phoenix) and my 3-octave choir (MOO Ringers, Mt. Of Olives Lutheran Church, Phoenix) traveled together as one double choir across the country for 28 days, playing 24 concerts and the Eastern National Festival in Amherst, MA. We called ourselves the Grand Canyon State Ringers. This was a very expensive undertaking, as you can imagine! Total cost: $10,820, in 1977! As far as we knew, two choirs over 100 miles apart, traveling together as one double choir on a major concert tour had never been attempted before nor since.

I shared our plans with John Faris, who was one of my handbell mentors, and "Mr. Music" at Agua Fria High School (5-octave plus 3-octave sets of handbells). John contacted his colleague at Scottsdale High School and set up a benefit concert for us at Scottsdale High. John's top group from Agua Fria High School and Scottsdale High's top group rang as did my group. I don't remember how much we raised that night, but I can tell you I was very moved by the generosity of John and his group for organizing this event on our behalf!

John set up the very first handbell festival in Arizona, and continued organizing very successful handbell festivals for many years and bought clinicians like Don Allured and David Davidson to Arizona. When we had enough people interested in forming a committee to take over from John, he then started organizing and running very successful school handbell festivals.

John has been a genuine "mover and shaker" both locally and nationally. He was appointed the first National Chair for CHIFE (Committee for Handbells In Formal Education) which subsequently became CHIME (Committee for Handbells In Music Education). I am very pleased that John is being recognized for his passion for handbells, and his incredible service to our instrument. I am proud to call him my friend."

Doug Benton

Everett's handbell methods were unique. He "spent hours analyzing 'busy' and 'lazy' bells in each composition in an attempt to keep all twelve players fairly busy at all times." This resulted in the necessity for everyone to trade bells between all selections. Everett filled in the lengthy gaps while this was going on with much bell history, composition notes and anecdotes-"anything to keep the show going. Our concerts consisted of a disjointed lecture interspersed with handbell selections."

Following the University Ringers' embarrassing participation in the 1972 Area XI festival in Estes Park, they tried the "more or less scale-wise system popularly used throughout belldom."

Still dissatisfied, Everett returned to the drawing board and devised a new system of bell distribution to keep everyone busy at all times, still in use by a number of bell choirs today. (See OVERTONES 1955-1986, p. 353).

Everett Jay Hilty is well known as an organist, teacher of organ and church music, composer, lecturer, author of several instruction books and numerous articles. His choral, organ, and handbell compositions have been published by twelve major publishers. Everett is also an accomplished carilloneur, often entertaining with the CU carillon before concerts at Macky Auditorium even after his retirement, and he was the official carilloneur for the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley in 1960.

On the CU faculty from 1940 till 1978, Everett left a legacy in organ and handbells. He designed the Division of Organ and Church Music at CU, and was for many years its head. After retiring as Professor Emeritus, he continued to direct the University handbell ensembles until 1989, including an alumni group now known as The High Plains Ringers.

As a composer, Everett has stretched the traditional concept of melody and harmony, writing music that is rhythmically based and explores the special sonorities of handbells. He has presented workshops at national AGEHR festivals and conventions, as well as conducting regional handbell festivals and workshops.

AGEHR honored Everett Hilty as an "Honorary Life Member," the Guild's highest award. He has also received the University of Colorado Distinguished Alumni Award. He is listed in several "Who's Who" anthologies including the "International Who's Who in Music," London.

At the tender age of 96, Everett currently resides in Manhattan, Kansas, where he lives with Joan Shull, his former student and retired handbell director and AGEHR officer.

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Humorous Anecdote from John Faris

John writes:

"For a brief period of time, during Doug Benton's tenure as Area XI Chair, he asked me to publish a newsletter and also be in charge of the Area XI "Sing" at the National Directors Conference.

I thought and thought: what would be something original that would set Area XI apart from everywhere else? Then the idea struck me. I coined the name: CON'MU'TAZ'WY to define Area XI. This is an acronym consisting of the abbreviations of the states in Area XI: CO - Colorado, NM - New Mexico, UT - Utah, AZ - Arizona and WY - Wyoming. I made printed materials (banners, etc.) to decorate our lunch table and Everett Hilty wrote a song entitled CONMUTAZWY that we could sing at the luncheon.

I thought I was a genius. Upon arriving at the conference, NO ONE thought this was cute even through they went along with it once. Even Everett (Hilty) had written the song under protest. We have never since heard that word. Oh well, some people seemingly don't have a sense of originality or humor."

John

Recalling another "sing" -
The above story prompts our web steward to remember the first National Directors Conference she attended (perhaps in Denver) where Everett Hilty was dressed as the Energizer Bunny and just kept going and going during the chorus of some song.     Area XI attendees sang verse after verse after verse with the Bunny marching around and through the dining area during the chorus, while the rest of the luncheon attendees groaned loudly every time they thought the song was finally ended and there was still "just one more" verse. The Bunny was funny, the song has long since been forgotten.

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