The University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, Chicago, Illinois, announces carillon recitals Sundays at 5:00 p.m.:
August 1, Kimberly Schafer;
8/8, Lynnli Wang;
8/15, Wylie Crawford;
8/22, Joey Brink.
The Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon consists of 72 bells, cast by Gillett & Johnston bell foundry of Croydon, England.
For information: rockefeller.uchicago.edu.
Other upcoming events:
Northfield (MN) noontime organ recitals
The University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel houses one of the crown jewels of carillons worldwide—the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon. The 72-bell instrument is a sister to the other carillon donated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.—the carillon in The Riverside Church in New York City. Both carillons were cast by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon, England, and they are the two largest carillons in the world by weight, with Chicago’s carillon second heaviest at over 100 tons. The Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon was cast over a three-year period and installed in 1932. The university proudly celebrates the 90th anniversary of the carillon’s installation by hosting the annual congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America in June 2022 (gcna.org).
The carillon’s mechanics and design bear some hallmarks of Gillett & Johnston’s style while also incorporating contemporary features. The bells possess a rich, full tone because of their fine craftsmanship and extra-large profile, true to the Gillett & Johnston tradition. The large range of the keyboard was of the foundry’s own design, similar to that of their instrument in New York, before unifying keyboard standards were adopted by carillon guilds. The keyboard transposes down four semitones, intensifying the bells’ low register and long resonance. The largest nine bells of the carillon were connected to an electro-pneumatic mechanical system to ring the time in 15-minute increments and to ring the six largest bells via an electric switchbox mounted directly on the carillon keyboard.
In 2005, members of the university administration solicited gifts from alumni to fund an organ and carillon renovation on the occasion of University President Don Michael Randel’s retirement and 65th birthday. Through these generous donations, Eijsbouts of the Netherlands was able to execute a full-scale renovation in 2007 and 2008. The transmission system was updated from a roller bar to directed crank, and the bells were repositioned on a new frame to allow for better sound transmission from the belfry to the ground. All clappers were replaced. The original playing cabin was dismantled, rebuilt, and repositioned within the tower, allowing for better sound transmission and playability from the keyboard. The original keyboard frame was retained but outfitted with an updated World Carillon Federation keyboard design. The electro-pneumatic mechanical system was decoupled from the carillon transmission system in the bass bells, making them more playable for the carillonist. The highest 46 bells were slightly retuned to offset the effects of corrosion over the decades. All in all, the carillon became more consonant, resonant, playable, and easier to hear for audiences.
The original Gillett & Johnston practice keyboard is currently being restored by the B. A. Sunderlin Bellfoundry of Ruther Glen, Virginia. The foundry cast new tone bars and rebuilt the transmission for the full six-octave keyboard. The project is expected to be completed in time for the GCNA Congress in June.
Joey Brink, a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2015, has been university carillonist since September of that year, although he will be stepping down in September 2022 (see page 3). An active student carillon guild involves undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in carillon instruction and activities. About twenty students per year enroll in weekly carillon lessons led by Brink, and they assist in playing daily recitals and leading tower tours.
The carillon is played each day, 12:00–1:00 p.m. and 5:00–6:00 p.m., during the academic quarters. Recitals are performed by Brink and students of the carillon guild. The Sunday noon concert, following the chapel service, is programmed and performed by Brink or other local professionals. The carillon is also played for special occasions in the Rockefeller Chapel, including weddings, funerals, and university convocations.
—Kimberly Schafer, PhD
Carillonist and campanologist
Chicago, Illinois
Carillon website: rockefeller.uchicago.edu/the-carillon
Perched 23 stories above the bustling streets of Manhattan, the world’s heaviest carillon rings out from The Riverside Church. This grand carillon boasts 74 bells, all housed in the church’s imposing Gothic tower overlooking the Hudson River. While its smallest bell weighs only ten pounds, its 20-ton bourdon sounds a low C and measures over ten feet in diameter, making it the largest and heaviest tuned carillon bell ever cast. A sister instrument to the carillon at the University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, The Riverside Church carillon is, like the Chicago instrument, an enduring gift from John D. Rockefeller, dedicated to his mother as a Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon.
The Riverside carillon originally began as a still-formidable 53-bell instrument cast by Gillett & Johnston and installed at the Park Avenue Baptist Church in 1925. This instrument, dedicated by Belgian carillonist Anton Brees, was known at the time as the Park Avenue Baptist Church carillon. Percival Price was later named carillonist. It also attracted significant media attention because it was played by Ruth Muzzy Conniston, one of the first female carillonists in North America, while Price was away studying at the Belgian carillon school in Mechelen. Articles about Conniston during this period emphasize the weight and size of the carillon, with reporters expressing shock and awe that such an immense instrument could be played (quite well, reportedly) by a woman. Following Conniston’s brief tenure, the job went to illustrious Belgian carillonist Kamiel Lefévere, who remained until 1960.
When the church moved to a new location on Riverside Drive in 1930, the carillon moved as well. In order to fit the new location’s much grander, 392-foot bell tower (the tallest church tower in the United States), the carillon was expanded to 72 bells—all by Gillett & Johnston—including the present 20-ton bourdon. At this time, it broke ground by becoming the first carillon in history with a range of more than five octaves, slightly preceding the installation of the Chicago Rockefeller carillon.
In 1955, 56 of the upper bells were sent to the Netherlands to be melted down and recast by the Van Bergen bell foundry, which is also when the final two upper bells were added to bring the total bell count up to the present 74. However, in the early 2000s, these 58 Van Bergen bells were removed from the carillon and completely replaced by bells cast by Whitechapel when the instrument underwent a multi-year restoration. In recasting these 58 bells, Whitechapel copied the original Gillett & Johnston profiles for some of the lowest bells and used modern profiles for the rest. Also, in the course of this renovation, the pneumatic assist previously used for the largest bells was removed entirely.
Throughout its 98-year history, the Riverside carillon has employed many notable carillonists, including those mentioned above as well as James A. Lawson (1960–1989), Joseph Clair Davis (1990–1998), and Dionisio A. Lind (1999–2018); the latter was the world’s first Black professional carillonist, according to University of Michigan carillonist Tiffany Ng. In the present day, the bells are played for Sunday services and special services by Charles Semowich (carillonist), Lynnli Wang, and Carla Staffaroni (assistant carillonists). Along with regular hour and quarter-hour strikes and a weekly swinging peal, there is a carillon recital every Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. During the summer, the church hosts a carillon recital series of five concerts by guest and local carillonists.
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
The Michigan State University’s Beaumont Memorial Tower in East Lansing is centrally located on campus in an open, wooded park ideal for carillon concerts. Apart from its beautiful natural setting, Beaumont Memorial Tower is distinguished as the first recipient of a Michigan Historical Marker in 1955 on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the university. Alumnus John W. Beaumont and his wife Alice donated the funds for the tower and chime as a monument to the college’s mission and achievements.
The tower was designed in the neo-Gothic style by the architectural firm of Donaldson and Meier of Detroit and built in 1929. The current carillon of Beaumont Memorial Tower started as a ten-bell chime cast by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon, England, in 1928 and installed in 1929. The chime was performed manually from a baton keyboard, and the bells were automated to ring the quarter-hour and hour. Shortly after its installation, three more bells were ordered from Gillett & Johnston and installed in 1930, so that the college’s Alma Mater, “Close by the Winding Cedar,” could be performed with the available pitches.
The chime underwent multiple expansions and improvements until it became the world-class carillon it is today. Russell Daubert, the first chimer, advocated for the expansion of the instrument to a carillon, and in 1935 ten more bells were added—bringing the total number of bells to 23. In the late 1940s, due to the advocacy of new carillonist Wendell Westcott, 14 more bells were added in 1950, bringing the total to 37, but these treble bells were cast by the Dutch firm Petit & Fritsen. The Michigan State College Fund solicited for ten more bells shortly thereafter, and six treble bells were installed in 1952, while four bass bells were installed in 1959. The new trebles were cast by Petit & Fritsen, while the four bass bells were cast by Gillett & Johnston. By this time, the carillon consisted of 47 bells at a concert size of four octaves.
By the early 1970s, the instrument had fallen into disrepair, and in 1986 the bells were disconnected from the keyboard and automatic playing mechanism. The university hired the Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry of the Netherlands restore the clock mechanism, automate the lowest 27 bells, install a new central transmission system with directed cranks, replace the 20 Petit & Fritsen bells, and add two more bells. The replacement treble bells rectified the tuning discrepancy between the bells cast by two firms. Margo Halsted, the University of Michigan carillonneur, was a strong supporter of the carillon’s renovation and was the formal consultant on the project. After this last renovation was completed, the carillon consisted of 49 bells. The bells are pitched from C3 to D7, absent two bass notes, although they transpose up one whole step from their keyboard position (lowest bell keyed at B-flat).
Margo Halsted served as the visiting university carillonneur from 1996 to 1997, at which time her student Ray McLellan was appointed to the position of university carillonneur. He served in this position until his untimely passing in April 2021. The university carillonist of Grand Valley State University, Julianne Vanden Wyngaard, served as the interim carillonist, and Jonathan Lehrer started as the new university carillonist in August 2022. Other regular performers include Rachel Drobnak, Laurie Harkema, Sally Harwood, and Bill McHarris.
When classes are in session, the carillon is played at noon most days of the week and for special events. Lehrer will continue the carillon performance studio started by his predecessor. The Muelder Summer Carillon Recital series occurs on five to six consecutive Wednesdays in July and August at 6:00 p.m., started in 1996 through the generosity of faculty member and administrator Milton Muelder.
—Kimberly Schafer, PhD, Carillonist and campanologist, Chicago, Illinois
Carillon website: music.msu.edu/carillon/history-of-beaumont-tower-and-the-carillon
