Organizations

Provincial Guilds

BCGEHR is part of a larger Canadian handbell community. Other provincial guilds include:

Handbell Musicians of Canada (HMC)

Launched in 2020, HMC is our national handbell organization, built with a fresh model for today’s ringers. Membership is open to everyone — ringers, directors, composers, sponsors, and community partners. Being part of HMC means access to workshops, festivals, symposiums, and a nationwide network of musicians.

Membership in HMC is not connected to your membership in a provincial guild. The fee is nominal but is not covered by your provincial membership. The individual member model makes HMC truly representative of the entire Canadian handbell community. It’s an easy and affordable way to be connected with like-minded musicians and keep your finger on the pulse of the handbell community across the country.

HMC’s interactive website is the hub for everything handbells at the national level in Canada — news, events, registrations, and links to the international community. You’ll also find HMC on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) (@handbellscanada) and Instagram (@handbellmusiciansofcanada).

International Guilds

Handbell ringing is global! Here are the other national organizations:

International Handbell Symposium

Every two years, hundreds of ringers from around the world gather to celebrate, learn, and perform together. The next event — the 22nd International Handbell Symposium — will be in Aberdeen, Scotland, August 4–8, 2026, hosted by the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain.

The principal purpose of the International Handbell Symposium is to promote the communication between nations, the spreading of handbell ringing as art, and to extend the spirit of world peace through music.

The International Handbell Symposium brings people together from around the world to share the art of handbell ringing and to spread harmony—both musical and human—across nations.

The Symposium was born in 1984 when American and Japanese leaders envisioned a truly global handbell gathering. Since then, Symposia have rotated biennially among member countries and events typically draw 600–750 ringers worldwide. Each participating national guild provides one composition for massed performance, and nominates a conductor. Symposium attendees get the thrill of working with conductors representing each of the participating countries.

Not only is the art and skill of handbell ringing celebrated through massed rehearsals, workshops, and performances, but the participants are able to enjoy seeing and experiencing the cultures of each country. Participants often take part in sightseeing tours and perform concerts in the host communities, creating connections that last a lifetime.

Canada has hosted an international symposium three times — Edmonton in 1992, Toronto in 2004, and most recently Vancouver in 2016. You can watch the final concert from that event here.

Past Symposium Locations

Here’s the complete list of Symposia and locations.

Press to see the times Canada has hosted!

  • 1st International Handbell Symposium, Arcata, California, USA, 1984

  • 2nd International Handbell Symposium, Gotemba, Japan, 1986

  • 3rd International Handbell Symposium, Exeter, England, United Kingdom, 1988\

  • 4th International Handbell Symposium, Seoul, South Korea, 1990

  • 5th International Handbell Symposium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 1992

  • 6th International Handbell Symposium, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1994

  • 7th International Handbell Symposium, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 1996

  • 8th International Handbell Symposium, Chiba, Japan, 1998

  • 9th International Handbell Symposium, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, 2000

  • 10th International Handbell Symposium, Busan, South Korea, 2002

  • 11th International Handbell Symposium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2004

  • 12th International Handbell Symposium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 2006

    • "Unity in Diversity"

  • 13th International Handbell Symposium, Orlando, Florida, USA, 2008

    • "Ringing in Unity"

  • 14th International Handbell Symposium, Osaka, Japan, 2010

    • "Echoes for Peace"

  • 15th International Handbell Symposium, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom, July 31 – August 4, 2012

    • "The World in One City"

  • 16th International Handbell Symposium, Jeju, South Korea, August 5–9, 2014

    • "Ring for Beautiful World"

  • 17th International Handbell Symposium, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 26–30, 2016

  • 18th International Handbell Symposium, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, August 6–11, 2018

    • "Together in Harmony - The Reef and Rainforest Ring"

  • 19th International Handbell Symposium, Hong Kong, China, planned for August 4–8, 2020, but was cancelled.

    • "Sound of the Pearl — Here the Pearl, Hear we Ring"

  • 20th International Handbell Symposium, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, August 1–6, 2022

    • "Out of Many, One"

  • 21st International Handbell Symposium, Hamamatsu, Japan, August 12–17, 2024 theme??

  • 22nd International Handbell Symposium, Aberdeen, Scotland, August 4–8, 2026

    • “Bridging the World Through Music”


The International Handbell Committee (IHC)

www.internationalhandbells.org

Formed in 1990, the IHC sets the vision and standards for the Symposium. It includes leaders from eight member guilds: Japan, Australasia, Korea, Canada, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the USA.

Canada has played an important role over the years, with leaders like Alberta’s Alison Wood serving as Executive Director, and Manitoba’s Patsy Andrews-Vert set to step into the role in 2026.

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