Carillon News

February Florida Festival

The 14th International Carillon Festival at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida, will occur February 20-28, featuring carillonneurs Geert D'hollander, Todd Fair, Ulla Laage, Carlo van Ulft, Milford Myhre and William De Turk. Events include daily 3 pm carillon recitals, a moonlight recital  on February 27, lectures and exhibits in the new Education & Visitor Center, and several non-carillon concerts. For more information, contact Bill De Turk, Bok Tower Gardens, 1151 Tower Blvd., Lake Wales, FL 33853-3412; phone: 941/676-1154; fax: 941/676-6770; E-mail: <[email protected]>.

Berkeley Congress Report

The 56th Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America was held at the University of California at Berkeley, 17-20 June 1998 with 126 persons in attendance. University Carillonneur Geert D'hollander was the host. Held in conjunction with the Fifth Berkeley International Carillon Festival, the 1998 meeting focused on the life and work of Emilien Allard and honored the memory of Ronald Barnes. Madeleine Allard was present as an honored guest. Also honored were Evelyn Chambers and other members of the Class of 1928, patrons of the Berkeley Carillon and its International Carillon Festival.

Recitalists for the Congress were Lisa Lonie of Philadelphia; George Gregory of San Antonio, Texas; Claude Aubin of Montréal, Québec, Canada; Gideon Bodden of The Netherlands; Andrea McCrady of Spokane, Washington; and the carillonneurs of Berkeley: Geert D'hollander, John Agraz, Jeff Davis, David Hunsberger, and Liesbeth Janssens. The Berkeley Brass Quintet conducted by David Milnes joined Geert D'hollander and Liesbeth Janssens in a special program of music arranged for bells and brass by Ms.  Janssens. D'hollander gave the premiere performances of the winning pieces in the 1998 Johan Franco Composition Competition. The first prize was awarded to Mr. D'hollander himself for his Modal Nocturne. Ennis Fruhauf's Passacaglia was awarded second prize.

John Agraz gave a workshop on basic carillon maintenance. Masterclasses were taught by John Gouwens on interpretation and by Geert D'hollander on effective ways to learn new music. Two presentations on the music of Emilien Allard were given: Milford Myhre played historic recordings from Bok Tower, and Liesbeth Janssen shared her findings based on theoretical analyses of some of Allard's pieces.

Following successful examination recitals, ten members were accorded Carillonneur status by vote of the Guild: Steven Ball of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Linda Dzuris of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Chuck Barland of Lawrence, Kansas; Andy Greene of Berkeley, California; Andrew Capule of Berkeley, California; Liesbeth Janssens of Berkeley, California; Helena Chen of Berkeley, California; Sabin Levi of Provo, Utah; Geert D'hollander of Berkeley, California;  and Lynne Tidwell  of Lawrence, Kansas.

Dr. Joseph F. Marsh, Jr., former president of Concord College, and Alicia Porter Washam and Rufus "Buddy" Porter of Highland Park United Methodist Church, Dallas, were recommended and approved for Honorary Membership. Janet Dundore was awarded the Extraordinary Service Award for her many contributions to the Guild and to the profession, most particularly her original, audience-friendly approach to recitals. Emilien Allard, Evelyn Chambers, the Class of 1928, Janet Dundore, and Karel and Linda Keldermans received Berkeley Medals. A memorial fund in the name of Ronald Barnes was established to provide scholarships for North Americans to study the North American Carillon Art in North America.

The next congress of the GCNA will be held at Iowa State University, Ames, 16-19 June 1999. Tin-shi Tan will be our host. In the year 2000, the CGNA congress will be held in the city of Frederick, Maryland as well as at the Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. John Widmann and Jim Smith will be our hosts. Also in 2000 will be a congress of the World Carillon Federation in Springfield, Illinois, hosted by Karel Keldermans.

News from Iowa State

Iowa State University Carillonneur Tin-shi Tam sends the following news.

Spring carillon festival 1998

Iowa State University (ISU) hosted the Spring Carillon Festival 1998 and the Carillon Composition Competition during the weekend of April 24-26. Guest carillonneur was Albert Gerken, Carillonneur at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. He performed a recital featuring carillon music by Gary C. White, Professor Emeritus of Composition at ISU. He also conducted a seminar on "The importance of musical considerations in building or renovating a carillon." The Festival also included a Family concert featuring ISU student carillonneurs, the Ames Children's Preparatory Choir, ISU Dance and ISU/Ames Flute Ensemble. Tin-shi Tam, ISU University Carillonneur, presented a faculty recital during the Festival that included Emilien Allard's Sonata (1968).

In conjunction with the Festival, a Carillon Composition Competition was held to encourage the writing of original carillon compositions by young composers. Contestants from all parts of the country and overseas submitted entries. No award was given this year.

In 1999, Iowa State University will celebrate  the centennial anniversary of the Stanton Memorial Carillon. ISU will host the 57th Congress of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America from June 16-19. Additional celebrations have also been planned.

Summer keyboard camp

The Sixth Annual Keyboard Exploration was hosted by Iowa State University Music Department from June 22 through 27. The summer music camp was for keyboard students who were entering grades 7-12. Participants experienced first-hand the thrill of playing various kinds of keyboard instruments including organ, harpsichord, piano and carillon. Nine students studied carillon under ISU University Carillonneur, Tin-shi Tam. Two carillon concerts were performed by students towards the end of the week.

News from Springfield

Karel Keldermans, carillonneur for the Springfield, Illinois, park district, sends the following news.

Midwest regional conference

The second Midwest Regional Conference of the GCNA was held in Springfield, Illinois, on Saturday, May 30, 1998. Participants from Kansas, Kentucky, Iowa, Illinois, and Denmark were hosted by Karel Keldermans.

John Courter of Berea College began the presentations with a description of his personal compositional style and indicated the importance of Gregorian chant in his music. He played a recording of two of his carillon fantasies, and a lively discussion ensued. Albert Gerken of the University of Kansas at Lawrence then took the podium to make the first of his two presentations for the conference. Bert gave an excellent analysis relative to the usefulness of C-sharp and D-sharp in the bass of the carillon. To this end, he gave an insightful explanation as to why Pieter Hemony several centuries ago had in fact been incorrect in asserting that C-sharp and D-sharp were "useless." With cogent examples from the  De Gruytters Carillon Book and various Van den Gheyn Preludes--music appropriate to the period under discussion--Bert then demonstrated musically why a carillon indeed needs to be fully chromatic.

Informal discussions continued as a catered lunch was served in the parlor, courtesy of the Springfield Park District. Following the lunch break, Ann-Kirstine Christiansen, a Danish carillonneur and administrator at the Scandinavian Carillon School in Løgumkloster, Denmark, gave her presentation on the formation of the School and explained how courses are set up, the number of students attending, and the number graduated. After Ann-Kirstine's presentation, the group transferred to the Rees Carillon where Bert Gerken took the second afternoon session--that of music notation. Bert has developed a unique system of handling and pedaling on his scores, and the group was very interested in his techniques as he demonstrated them at the keyboard of the Rees Carillon. The conference adjourned in the late afternoon with some of the attendees remaining in Springfield for the International Carillon Festival.

Annual Springfield festival

The 37th International Carillon Festival in Springfield, Illinois, was held at the Rees Memorial Carillon in Washington Park from May 31 through June 7, 1998. The eight days of the Festival were filled with carillon-related activities, culminating each evening in two or three recitals by guest carillonneurs.  This year's recitalists were Albert Gerken, Kansas; Ann-Kirstine Christiansen, Denmark; Ray McLellan, Michigan; Bob van Wely, The Netherlands; Gert Oldenbeuving, The Netherlands; Koen Cosaert, Belgium; Sue Jones, Illinois; and host Karel Keldermans.

The first evening of recitals featured Albert Gerken and Karel Keldermans performing original compositions and arrangements by Ronald Barnes (1927-1997). This evening of special tribute to North America's premier composer for the instrument was especially meaningful to festival audiences who had come to know Ron Barnes as a frequent participant and visitor to the Festival. During the rest of the week, Barnes' works were prominently featured in recitals by other guest carillonneurs. Huge crowds gathered Saturday evening for the traditional gala fireworks to the accompaniment of carillon music.

Prospectus: French Carillon School

The French Carillon School was established in 1971 in Tourcoing and has been associated with the Conservatoire National de Région de Douai since September, 1997. During the academic year, instruction is given at all levels: beginners, amateurs, professional, advanced, and virtuosity. Lessons are given regularly on Wednesday and Saturday mornings and are available on other days by appointment. Intensive sessions are available for those traveling from afar. Applied lessons are given alternately on practice consoles, the mobile carillon, and the belfry carillon. There is a mid-year exam, and a final exam with an international jury is held in mid-June to determine the award to be presented according to the guidelines of the National Music Conservatories: * Mentions: at the initial, preparatory, and elementary levels * Medals and Practice Diploma: at the middle level * Carillonneur Diploma: upon completion of program of study * Gold, Vermeil, Silver, and Bronze Medals: advanced level * Prizes and Certificates of Merit: superior level. (The Master Carillonneur Diploma is awarded as the Premier Prix at this level.) Since its inception, the French Carillon School has awarded twenty carillonneur diplomas (nine to foreigners) and ten Master Carillonneur Diplomas (three to foreigners). A class of virtuosity, a class for the preparation for international competitions, and a special course for the preparation for the State Diploma and Certificate of Aptitude for carillon instruction were recently established. There is an annual registration fee but no tuition. For information and registration, contact: Ecole Française de Carillon; 39, rue de l'Université; 59500 Douai; France. Phone/Fax: 33.3.27.93.58.33. Lessons are available in Tourcoing-contact Bruno Membrey; rue Paul Doumer; 59200 Tourcoing. Beginners can study in Dijon-contact M. Alain Chobert; 2 rue de Tillot; 21000 Dijon.

Kansas Congress Report

In the spring of 1854 the Massachusetts legislature chartered the New England Emigrant Aid Company, whose mission was to promote the settlement of Kansas by people who opposed slavery. Among the towns founded under its direction was Lawrence, and it was there that the University of Kansas was established. Central to its lovely campus, located on Mount Oread, is the World War II Memorial Campanile with its carillon.

Hosted by University Carillonneur Albert Gerken and the University's Department of Music and Dance, 132 individuals participated in the 55th Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, June 3-7, 1997, which celebrated the instrument's restoration and with it the lives and contributions of four individuals whose careers as composers are inextricably linked to the carillon and to the University. Honored were Ronald Barnes, Roy Hamlin Johnson, John Pozdro and Gary White, who took inspiration from the magnificent Taylor carillon and contributed to the profession beyond words. Through recitals and presentations, the delegates, representing Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, The Netherlands and The United States of America, witnessed in glorious measure the significance of those contributions and of the instrument that inspired them.

John Gouwens played the opening recital, which included two compositions commissioned by the GCNA: Figments (1982) by Gary White, and Easter Dawning (1992) by George Crumb. Albert Gerken, like Gouwens, featured each of the four composers being honored, and premiered two works: Roy Hamlin Johnson's Winter Fanfares (1996), commissioned by the Department of Music and Dance and dedicated to Gerken, and Winds of Autumn, by John Pozdro. Other recitalists were Robert Byrnes, Don Cook, Bill De Turk, David Hunsberger, Karel Keldermans, Brian Swager, and Sally Slade Warner.

Six individuals were accorded Carillonneur status by vote of the Guild after playing successful examination recitals: Elaine Brewer, a Lawrence, Kansas freelance harpist; Helen Hawley, Organist/Choir Director at Plymouth Congregational Church, Lawrence; Rosemary Laing of Victoria, British Columbia, who is Carillonneur of the Netherlands Centennial Carillon, Organist at First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Music Specialist at the University of Victoria; Patrick Macoska, Organist/Choirmaster at St. Mary's of Redford, Detroit, Michigan; Suzanne Magassy, Carillonneur at the National Carillon, Canberra, Australia, and the only person outside of North America  to have become a Carillonneur member of the GCNA; and Gloria Werblow, Carillonneur at the Rainbow Tower Carillon, Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Carillonneur/Handbell Director at Calvary Episcopal Church, Williamsville, New York.

Presentations were enlightening and enjoyable. Mark Holmberg provided a historical overview of the KU carillon. Don Cook conducted a presentation/discussion on carillon music that meets pedagogical needs. Karel Keldermans described Gillett and Johnston's impact on carillon design in North America, focusing on the Rockefeller Chapel instrument at the University of Chicago. Brian Swager continued his description, begun in a Cohasset presentation, of baroque performance practice for carillonneurs, while Bill De Turk, anticipating his own recital, discussed the work of Samuel Barber, Gian-Carlo Menotti and Nino Rota while composers-in-residence at Bok Tower. In a session on Russian campanology, Edward Williams reviewed some of the more spectacular projects of Russian bellfounders.

George Gregory, joined in performance by Guild volunteers and KU music faculty, demonstrated the use of cup-shaped bells. John Pozdro led a session on composing, Andrea McCrady offered suggestions on how to play the carillon so as to avoid injury, and Roy Hamlin Johnson recalled his early efforts to learn how to compose for the carillon. Two new instruments were highlighted in illustrated presentations:  Margo Halsted introduced the Lurie Carillon, located on the north campus of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and Beverly Buchanan described the Carillon Beach instrument, located at Panama City, Florida. Milford Myhre and Ronald Barnes gave a master class. There were tours of the Reuter Organ Company, and two KU students performed on the recently completed Wolff organ in the new Bales Recital Hall. John Agraz, Arla Jo Anderton, and John Courter were elected board members at-large.

Meeks and Watson hosted a welcoming reception, and Schulmerich hosted a closing ice cream social at the Campanile. The John Taylor Bellfounders hosted a candlelight buffet at the Dyche Natural History Museum. The Verdin Company hosted the annual pizza party at historic Liberty Hall, with entertainment by the Chuck Berg Quartet. The Royal Eijsbouts Bellfounders hosted the Congress banquet at KU's Adams Alumni Center, after which Bert Gerken formally introduced and thanked Ron Barnes, Roy Johnson, John Pozdro, and Gary White.

Profile: University of Kansas

The World War II Memorial Carillon and Campanile, inspired by the memories of classmates, teachers, friends, and relatives, stands as the most outstanding visual symbol of the University of Kansas.

In 1945, Kansas Supreme Court Justice Hugo T. "Dutch" Wedell, secretary of the Kansas Alumni Association Fred Ellsworth, Chancellor Deane W. Malott, and their tireless volunteers began a campaign which would raise $343,000 from 8,000 individuals to build KU's memorial to its war dead, the 276 students and faculty whose names appear in the Memorial Room of the Campanile, and to additional individuals in whose memory bells and donations were given. Through many people's efforts, the World War II Memorial Carillon and Campanile was constructed. The Belgian Anton Brees, then carillonneur at Lake Wales, Florida, and Duke University, played the dedicatory recital to over 7000 listeners on May 27, 1951. Thus, KU became one of the first universities in the nation to complete a major World War II memorial. An inscription in the Memorial Room at the base of the tower reads: "Free government does not bestow repose upon its citizens, but sets them in the vanguard of battle to defend the liberty of every man."

The Campanile is 120 feet tall and made of native Kansas limestone quarried in Cottonwood Falls and Junction City. It was inspired by a plan by Olin Templin and designed by Kansas City architects Homer F. Neville (class of '22) and Edward B. Delk. The fifty-three bronze bells were cast by the John Taylor Foundry in 1950 and range in weight from 12 pounds to 13,490 pounds. The bourdon is keyed to G and sounds F-sharp. Frank Godfrey supervised the design, casting, and installation of the KU bells.

State of Kansas funds provided for maintenance of the Campanile structure itself, but there was never a maintenance fund for the musical instrument inside. Because the carillon received only minimal maintenance after the day of its dedication in 1951, use and time took their toll. By 1991 the carillon had fallen into disrepair, with no funds available for restoration. Deterioration was so extensive that the cost for repair had risen to $425,000. It needed new playing and practice consoles, new bell clappers and hardware, an entire new mechanical action, and a bell frame.

Fortunately for the beloved campus landmark and everyone who cherished it, Keith and Joan Bunnel, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, contributed the entire $425,000, because they cared deeply about the carillon and those to whom it was dedicated.

The bells were silenced in 1993 to begin renovation. The Verdin Company of Cincinnati performed the work, and the new consoles were supplied by Meeks, Watson, & Company. That same year, former Chancellor Deane Malott of Ithaca, New York, agreed to lead a campaign to establish a $200,000 endowed maintenance fund that will provide annual inspection and upkeep of the carillon, in order to avoid the same deterioration that occurred in the first forty years. With Malott's leadership and the inspiration of the Keith and Joan Bunnel gift, nearly one thousand alumni responded to the call, exceeding the campaign's goal and ensuring that the KU carillon remains in perfect condition forevermore.

Ronald Barnes was University Carillonneur from 1951 to 1963 during which period the instrument was influential in the development of a North American school of carillon composition. Primary in this movement were KU composers Roy Hamlin Johnson, John Pozdro, and Gary White.

The University Carillonneur since 1963 has been Professor Albert Gerken of the KU Department of Music and Dance in the School of Fine Arts. Gerken supervised the entire carillon renovation and played the rededication on April 26, 1996.

Carillon dedication

A new carillon on the North Campus of the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, will be dedicated during a special ceremony on Thursday, October 19 at 9:00 p.m. During the spring and summer, the instrument is to be installed in the new and modern tower designed by the late architect Charles Moore of Austin, Texas. The dedication ceremony is planned to include music played on the new carillon and music performed by the University of Michigan Symphony Band, by itself and with the carillon. In addition to the music, there will be special tower lighting effects and fireworks.

The Lurie Carillon and Lurie Tower are named after Robert
Lurie and were donated by his widow, Ann, of Chicago. Robert Lurie held two
degrees in engineering from the University of Michigan. Royal Eijsbouts of The
Netherlands cast the 60 bells (bourdon G of six tons) to a modified Hemony
profile. Thirty-eight of the bells will also have MIDI capability. A new
practice keyboard will be installed in a nearby building.

Two works for carillon have been commissioned for the
dedication. The commissions went to University of Michigan composer William
Albright and to Mannheim Steamroller composer and director, Chip Davis, a
graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music. To help celebrate the
event, there is also a carillon composition competition for University of
Michigan student composers with cash prizes. The winning student pieces will be
performed at special concerts following the dedication.

Ronald Barnes honored

Honorary membership in the Guild of Carillonneurs in North
America was conferred on Ronald Barnes at the 1995 Congress in Princeton, New
Jersey. David Hunsberger nominated Mr. Barnes for this honor with the following
tribute.

Born and brought up in Lincoln, Nebraska, Mr. Barnes
believes his parents took him as a young child to hear Anton Brees dedicate the
carillon at First Plymouth Congregational Church. Fifteen years later, he
studied organ with Myron Roberts, the church's organist, who one day asked if
he would consider learning to play the carillon, since Mary Guest, the woman
then playing, planned to move away.

Young Ronald ascended the tower to watch her play, and
remembers that she played melodies only, and only in the bottom two octaves,
grasping the keys chime-style. When he asked her why she did not also use the
higher notes she replied that they didn't work, and sure enough, when he tried
one it would not move. Only a few days later, when he and his older brother
Bryce actually made their way into the bell chamber (in those days a hazardous
climb indeed) did he realize that all those notes had bells attached to them.

The two young men carried twelve bushel baskets full of dead
pigeons, droppings, and other dirt from the tower. They cleaned and lubricated
the playing action, disassembling some of it. When they had finished, Ronald
went up the following Sunday to play. Since he owned no carillon music, he simply played scales up and down the compass. The phone immediately began to ring, with neighborhood people wanting to know when the church had gotten the new bells. So far as he can determine, the last person to have played the small
bells on that carillon had been Anton Brees at the dedicatory recitals a decade
and a half earlier!

At the end of World War II Mr. Barnes served in the US Navy
in Japan during the occupation, on a destroyer tender as a specialist working
with navigational instruments, and later as a helmsman on a destroyer.
Afterwards he used the GI Bill to earn a Master of Arts degree in musicology at
Stanford University, where for his thesis he wrote a study of the carillon
preludes of Matthias van den Gheyn. He attended his first GCNA congress in 1948
at Ann Arbor, where he, Theophil Rusterholz, and Bertram Strickland played
their advancement recitals. Following the Congress he spent the summer in
Ottawa with Robert Donnell, which was to be his only formal study of the
carillon.

In 1951 he accepted an appointment to play the large new
Taylor carillon in Lawrence, Kansas, which he says was the finest in the world
at the time. While on the Kansas University faculty he also taught harpsichord
and cared for the university's instrument collection. In 1963 he again accepted
an appointment to play a brand new Taylor carillon, which he again thought was
the best carillon in the world, this time at the Washington Cathedral.

Finally, in 1982 he returned to California to preside over
the Class of 1928 Carillon at Berkeley. Under his supervision the Berkeley
instrument has been enlarged once and improved several times.

He has been host of three congresses, one at each of his
towers beginning in Kansas in 1956, and will be one of the hosts, along with
his successor, at the 1998 congress in Berkeley. He was President of the Guild
during part of the 1960s, and served for seven years during the 1950s as editor
of the Bulletin.

It was Mr. Barnes' personal encouragement that led several
of our most important composers, among them Roy Hamlin Johnson, John Pozdro,
and Gary White, to develop an interest in the carillon. He has played pivotal
roles in beginning and nurturing the carillon careers of some of our most
distinguished players, including Milford Myhre, Richard Strauss, and Daniel
Robins. He has written provocatively and with penetrating insight several times
for the Bulletin, working to set new standards for quality of performance,
choice of repertory, and sophistication in design and construction of instruments. But there is no doubt in my mind that the contribution that overshadows all others is his contribution to our instrument's musical literature. Dating back to his earliest years at Kansas and deepening during the years, the flow of compositions in his mature years has made our lives as performers increasingly worth living.

After 13 years of service, Ronald Barnes retired from his
position as University Carillonist at the University of California, Berkeley,
on October 15, 1995. Jeff Davis has been appointed Acting University
Carillonist.

Eurocarillon Festival

The first Eurocarillon Festival took place in Bruges and
Damme, Belgium, on September 1–3, 1995. It was organized by the two
cities and the newly founded European carillon organization, Eurocarillon, which
consists of representatives from Portugal, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany,
Spain, England, and The Netherlands.

On the first two days several concerts were given on the
carillon hung in the high Bruges town hall belfry overlooking the central market
square. The 47-bell instrument with a six-ton bourdon was cast in 1748 by Joris
Dumery and renovated in 1969 by Eijsbouts. A four-hands rendition of Vivaldi's
The Four Seasons given by Abel Chavez and Anna Maria Reverté was one of
the festival's high points. During another concert Aimé Lombaert and
Boudewijn Zwart's performance was seen on video and heard on loudspeakers in
one of the town hall's rooms where it was coordinated with the simultaneous
playing of a percussion ensemble. The closing concerts were held on the town
hall carillon of the nearby port of Damme which was reached by a boat trip
through a picturesque landscape.

The purpose of Eurocarillon is to strengthen the position of
the carillon and the carillonneur in European cultural life. The organization
will serve as an important showcase of European carillon culture. Each year a
special Eurocarillon concert featuring the same program will be given on the
same day at the same time in all of Eurocarillon's member cities, and a
Eurocarillon festival will be held in one of the member countries. Discussions
are currently underway to hold festivals this year in Lyons, next year in
Barcelona, and in 1998 in Amsterdam.

Slater to Retire

James "Bud" Slater will retire from his position
as Carillonneur of the Metropolitan United Church in Toronto, Ontario. With his
final Sunday on the job on March 28, Slater will mark the conclusion of his
35th year as carillonneur of the church. His association with the instrument
actually commenced in late 1954, and his first official recital was played
before the Sunday evening service May 22, 1955 under the watchful eye of his
tutor, Stanley James. Slater was appointed Assistant Carillonneur in 1959. During his tenure at Metropolitan, he had temporary appointments at other Ontario carillon locations, i.e., in Toronto at Exhibition Place and the University of Toronto, as well as Niagara Falls. He appeared frequently as guest carillonneur at the towers in Simcoe, Hamilton, and Ottawa, as well as Montréal, Que., and Victoria, B.C.

Slater became a student member of the Guild of Carillonneurs
in North America in 1955 and qualified as a carillonneur member in 1957 upon
passing an exam at the Guild's congress in Cleveland, Ohio. From 1969 to 1971
Slater served as GCNA president and subsequently, he and his wife, Cecilia,
hosted the Guild's Toronto Congress in 1972. James Slater is the father of
Gordon Slater who since 1977 has served as Dominion Carillonneur at the Peace
Tower Carillon in the Houses of Parliament in Ottawa.

On the eve of his 70th birthday in January, 1997, Bud cites
stairclimbing, cranky knees and reluctant elbows as his reasons for retirement.

1997 GCNA Congress

The Department of Music and Dance and Professor of Music
Albert Gerken have announced that the 1997 Congress of the Guild of
Carillonneurs in North America will be held at the University of Kansas, June
4-7. Major presenters will include Bill De Turk, George Gregory, Mark Holmberg,
Associate Professor of Music Theory at KU, Karel Keldermans, Roy Hamlin
Johnson, Brian Swager, and Edward Williams, Associate Dean of the Graduate
School of Penn State.

With ca. 28,000 students, the University of Kansas is in
Lawrence, a community of ca. 70,000. Directly off Interstate 70, Lawrence is
located about 250 miles from the geographical center of the U.S.A. The
picturesque campus of the University of Kansas is situated atop Mount Oread
overlooking the Kaw River valley to the north and the Wakarusa valley to the
south. Not flat as most foreigners picture Kansas, there will be some climbing
to do to get to various places. The Campanile is central to the campus
overlooking the football stadium and Kansas river valley. It was provided by
alumni and friends of the University as a memorial to the 276 KU students and
faculty who died in World War II.

Unquestionably the most prominent and central feature of the
campus, the 120-foot tall World War II memorial tower houses a 41/2-octave
carillon, cast in 1950 by the John Taylor Foundry. Transposing down a half
step, the 53 bells range in weight from 13,490 lbs. to 12 lbs. The instrument,
which was dedicated in May, 1951, with Anton Brees playing the dedicatory
recitals, was rededicated on April 26, 1996, following a complete renovation by
the I.T. Verdin Company with new consoles supplied by Meeks, Watson &
Company. The new radial action is void of any counter weights and assisted only
by coil springs. The sound is full and resonant but light in the top register,
typical of Taylor bells of that vintage.

Major funding for the renovation was provided by Honorary
members of The GCNA, and Keith and Joan Bunnel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Both were born and raised in Holmboldt, Kansas, not far from Lawrence, and
Keith Bunnel attended the University of Kansas, graduating in 1946. He was
president of his class and served on the World War II committee that selected
the Campanile and carillon as the memorial project to honor those who were
killed in battle.

The importance of the University of Kansas carillon has been
significant in that it has been at the center of a new genre of carillon
composition since the 1950s. Indeed, until the mid 1950s, very little music of
any significance had been written for the carillon. It was the likes of Ronald
Barnes, the first carillonneur at the University of Kansas, Roy Hamlin Johnson,
formerly of the KU piano faculty, John Pozdro, Professor Emeritus of
Composition and Music Theory at the University, and Gary White, one of Pozdro's
former graduate students in composition, who were the central figures
responsible for creating this wealth of marvelous and exciting new music. Their
works brought about recognition for the carillon as an instrument worthy of
recital status.

Because of the significance of their tremendous contribution
to the art form, many of their works will be featured in recitals during the
congress. It will be a meaningful experience to hear many of these works that
were written for this instrument or carillons of similar timbre. Two new
carillon compositions by Roy Hamlin Johnson and John Pozdro, commissioned by
the KU Department of Music and Dance and The GCNA respectively, will be
premiered at the congress.

Tours of the Reuter Organ Company will be made available to
participants and the beautiful new Wolff concert organ in the recently
completed Bales Recital Hall will be demonstrated and played. This is a
one-of-a-kind instrument you must see and hear.

Registration information is available from congress host
Albert Gerken, Department of Music and Dance, Murphy Hall, The University of
Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045.

"Overtones"

Beginning last October, new bells rang out up and down the
Avenue of the Arts (Broad Street) in Philadelphia. Thirty-nine Eijsbouts bells
were installed, each on top of a light post, weighing from 40 to 300 pounds.
The creator, Robert Coburn, a sound artist and composer from California,
describes the "worlds longest horizontal carillon" as a half-mile
long piano with the capability of playing pre-programmed or live music on an
electronic ivory keyboard which will be located in the basement of the Academy
of Music.

In observance of the 68th anniversary of The Rochester
Carillon, two special performances were given. Dean Robinson's program on
September 16 included favorite songs of the Mayo brothers. David Johnson of St.
Paul, MN, was the guest recitalist on September 17. The Rochester Carillon was
dedicated on September 17, 1928, and is located in the Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minnesota.

David McCain sends word of a new 49-bell carillon at the
First Baptist Church on the Square in LaGrange, Georgia, replete with
"ninety-two electrical connections from the bells to the keyboard and
computer."

In response to a request from Unesco for a program
commemorating the tenth anniversary of the accident at Chernobyl, carillonneurs
Charles Semovich and Pieter Blonk gave a recital at the Albany City Hall in
Albany, New York, on April 26, 1996. Works performed included Lagrima by
Francisco Tárrega, Bells of Hell by Theophil Rusterholz, and Larence
Curry's Prelude on "Dies Irae." Both Charles and Pieter were shown
playing the Albany carillon on the Channel 13 news broadcast.

The fourth annual Keyboard Explorations junior high school
summer music camp was hosted by the Iowa State University Music Department from
June 17-22, 1996. Participants had the opportunity to learn about various kinds
of keyboard instruments and had hands-on experiences in playing them. Eight
participants studied carillon under ISU University Carillonneur Tin-shi Tam.
Two carillon concerts were performed by students towards the end of the week.

After over a decade of silence, inactivity, and exposure to
the elements, the 23-bell carillon located on the property of Schulmerich Carillons, Inc. in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, rang again in a recital given by Lisa Lonie (Trinity Church, Holland, PA) on September 21. Approximately 250 listeners attended the recital which marked the end of a five-day sales and service conference. The carillon, cast in 1928 by Gillett and Johnston, was moved to its present location in 1952 from Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1979, Frank Law, carillonneur at Valley Forge, began a nightly summer recital series in Sellersville which continued for six years.

Competition winners

The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America has awarded
Second Prize to two composers in its 1996 Carillon Composition Competition. (No
First Prize was awarded.) The winning compositions were Nocturne
style='font-style:normal'> by Ennis Fruhauf, of Santa Barbara, California (USA)
and Prelude con Fughetta by
Marcel Siebers, of Cuyk, The Netherlands. Both compositions were given their
première performance by Todd Fair, of Amsterdam (Netherlands), at the
congress of the GCNA on June 4, 1996 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church,
Cohasset, Massachusetts. Both composers received a cash prize, and both pieces
will be published by the guild in the near future. Another competition is
planned for January of 1998.

Premières

A new carillon composition, Winter Song
style='font-style:normal'>, by Roy Hamlin Johnson, was given its
première performance by John Gouwens on June 26, 1996 on the carillon of
the Town Hall in Norwood, Massachusetts, at the congress of the Guild of
Carillonneurs in North America. The new piece was commissioned by the Johan
Franco Composition Committee of the GCNA and is published by the guild. Many of
Dr. Johnson's earlier compositions are staples of the repertory of
carillonneurs throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
This is the sixth carillon composition to the commissioned by the GCNA.

Carillon dedication

Ronald Barnes honored

Eurocarillon Festival

Brian Swager is a contributing editor of THE DIAPASON.

1998 World Congress Report

The 11th Carillon World Congress was held in Mechelen, Belgium, August 9-13, 1998. The welcoming recital was performed in the tower of St. Rombouts Cathedral by Jo Haazen, director of the Royal Belgian Carillon School. Other recitals that day were given by Patrick Macoska (Michigan), Adrian Gebruers (Ireland), Anna Maria Reverté (Spain),  Arie Abbenes (The Netherlands),  Timothy Hurd (New Zealand), Koen Van Assche (Belgium), Adrien Tien (Australia), Erik Vandevoort (Belgium), Xia Hua (China), and Liling Huang (Taiwan). A lecture on "75 Years Royal Carillon School in Mechelen" was given by musicologist Koen Cosaert, an instructor at the school. This was followed by a film, produced by Toshi Sakurai, documenting the school's history. The last two of the six finalists in the Queen Fabiola Competition played in the evening, and we were graced by the presence of Queen Fabiola herself. The winner was Tom Van Peer of Belgium. Second place was awarded to Belgian carillonneur Liesbeth Janssens.

The second day began with a recital by Helen Hawley (Kansas) who exclaimed that "it really was 441 steps up to the cabin in the St. Rombouts tower--there aren't even hills that high in Kansas!" Recitals that day were also given by Jeffrey Bossin (Germany), Frank Müller (Germany), Nico Swaenen (Belgium), Trevor Workman (England), Karel Keldermans (Illinois), and Carlo van Ulft (The Netherlands). Xia Ming Ming, director of the Museum of Antique Bells in Beijing, gave a lecture on bells excavated from the tomb of Zeng Hou Yi, the Marquis of Zeng, and on bells in ancient China. Liling Huang and Xia Hua provided musical intermezzi on traditional Chinese instruments. Alexander Iarechko, president of the Russian Association of Bell Culture, gave a lecture on the art of bell ringing in Russia. The vocal/instrumental trio Zolotoj Pljos from Zaratov, Russia (students at the Belgian Carillon School), performed musical intermezzi of traditional Russian folk music. The day concluded with a concert of carillon with guitar and brass quintet featuring Eddy Mariën (Belgium) on the Busleyden carillon.

Tuesday August 11 was a travel day.  The group first went to Grimbergen where a lovely concert of Gregorian chant was performed by organ and a men's choir inside a church. Once outside, a carillon concert based on Gregorian chant was heard. The concerts were followed by the obligatory drink of beer, and lunch, both offered by the town of Grimbergen. The group then traveled to Holsbeek to visit the Clock-O-Matic Company where lectures on the carillon console were presented. Karel Keldermans explained the standards set forth by the GCNA. Timothy Hurd spoke about his studies of the use of the keyboard, and the Clock-O-Matic representative discussed their data gathered from electronically monitoring the movement of a player's arm during a carillon performance. The day ended with a gala dinner at the Horst Castle on the edge of a lovely wooded lake where we were welcomed by a concert for carillon and concert band.

On Wednesday, the day's activities took place in Louvain, Belgium. Recitalists that day included Ann-Kirstine Christiansen (Denmark) on the University Carillon in Leuven. This carillon has a video system so that performers can be observed by the audience. Rosemarie Seuntiëns (The Netherlands) and Frank Steijns (The Netherlands) performed on a mobile carillon for the lunch hour. Henk Verhoef (The Netherlands) and Andreas Friedrich (Switzerland) performed on a mobile  carillon during the evening meal which was served in the Begijnhof garden. A concert of contemporary music was given by Klaas de Haan (The Netherlands), Brian Swager (California), and Carl Van Eyndhoven (Belgium) on the University Carillon, with each performer playing new Dutch, American, and Belgian carillon music, respectively.  The rest of the day was filled with various lectures which were given in a very warm room in a university building. The evening was reserved for "9 O'Clockworks," a musical happening on the large square facing the University Library. The Ghent bellman walked around the square introducing performances by various bell groups such as Valencian bell tollers, an Indonesian gamelan ensemble, Russian bell ringers, a mobile carillon, and the University Carillon. The happening concluded with a jam session.

David Hunsberger (California) performed the opening recital of the final congress day. Other recitals that day were given by Koen Cosaert (Belgium), Stefano Colletti (France) and Annick Ansselin (Australia). Sjoerd Tamminga (The Netherlands) played on the carillon in St. Peter's Church in Leuven.  Several lectures were presented that day including papers by Margo Halsted (the carillon music of Johannes Volckerick), Brian Swager (the carillon repertory of Gustaaf Brees), and Karel Keldermans (Gillett & Johnston).  A prelude to the closing session was the music of Matthias Van den Gheyn--including two carillon preludes--performed on harpsichord by Frank Agsteribbe (Belgium). Adrian Gebruers (Ireland) was announced as the new president of the World Carillon Federation. An evening of festive performances heralded the unveiling of the city of Leuven's new jacquemart "Meester Jan." Theban trumpets sounded, a mobile carillon and a renaissance brass quintet accompanied a renaissance dance ensemble, Arie Abbenes and Bob van Wely played a duet on the St. Pieters carillon, and the mobile carillon and a vibraphone accompanied ballet dancers in the Nutcracker Suite. An elegant reception in the University Hall was the final event in a most memorable Congress.