Hello Fellow Handbell Ringers

     I am Nancy Schmitt, director of the Carillons Handbell Choir and the Area 12 Northern California Region Coordinator.  I am happy to be on the board and I look forward to meeting you and helping you with your handbell concerns, as well as promoting the art of handbell ringing in the North State.  I was born and raised in Iowa and graduated from Wartburg College with a BA degree in Social Work. We arrived in San Diego, California in 1969.  I began playing handbells in 1987 after my two children kept insisting that I come and join them in the church’s handbell choir which I did.  We moved to Redding, California in 1991 and I immediately joined a Lutheran Handbell Choir.  Then in 1992 I became the director for the ecumenical bell ensemble, sponsored by St. James Lutheran and First Presbyterian Churches in Redding and have been doing it ever since.  I enjoy taking my bell choir to festivals and conferences as well as playing at both churches, weddings, funerals and area retirement homes.  My husband teaches at Shasta College and is retired from the Navy.  We have two children and four grandchildren.  When not directing or ringing bells I enjoy gardening, golfing, cross country skiing, and hiking.