Today was the official opening of the Region IX Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Bakersfield, CA. Everyone is telling us that we are extremely lucky that it is not a typical June day in Bakersfield — the weather is much cooler than normal — perhaps in the high 80s. By the end of the week, though, it’s supposed to be 109° F!

The day opened with a short solo handbell concert by Christine D. Anderson whose artistry and talent at picking up bells quickly was apparent. Most unfortunately, though, they put her in the lobby, where she had to compete with people checking in and walking through with their luggage. In case you’re wondering, she had piano accompaniment on a CD while she played the melody on the handbells. In several instances, she had three bells in each hand! She said the challenge in playing solo handbells is that the bells are frequently not put back in keyboard order.

I found several YouTube videos of her performances but since the Fourth of July is coming up soon, here is one you can view on “Yankee Doodle Dandy” by clicking here: http://youtu.be/m9oY-eoZqCw