View of the west tower on the Administration Building
at Texas Tech University with two of the larger carillon
bells visible. The bells are played from a console located
below the bells, behind the tower windows.
Heartfelt thanks to Texas Tech Provost
Bill
Marcy,
his assistant
Carolyn (now known as "Carillon"!) Kennedy, the CM Foundation,
and the many "friends of the carillon" who have made all of this
possible.
The
new carollon playing console in its shipping trailer, prior to
disassembly to allow the parts to be lifted
to the tower by crane, carried through a small trap door, and then
reassembled in the playing cabin.
An identical console for practice use has been provided through the
generosity of the CH
Foundation of Lubbock.
The
larger bells were originally provided by the Van Bergen company of
Greenwood, South Carolina.
During refurbishment, Bill Meeks (of Meeks and Watson) noticed the
hand-done lettering at the top of
the "Van Bergen" bells: WBF for Whitechapel Bell Foundry (in
England), and "Greenwood via Charleston"
below, indicating routing for shipping to the Van Bergen distribution
center. The Whitechapel Foundry
has confirmed making the bells for Van Bergen.
LINK TO ARTICLE IN THE Daily Toreador
e-Edition about the carillon refurbishment project:
http://www.dailytoreador.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/01/14/400492bde141c
LINK TO ANOTHER TEXAS TECH CARILLON
WEBSITE:
www.ttucarillon.com
This site is maintained by Texas Tech
music
student and carillonneur Will Balch.
Dedicatory Plaque for the Carillon at the base of the Tower
NOTE: All the material
below
pertains to the "original" carillon installation prior to the 2005
refurbishment and expansion.
Click Here for
Pictures from the Carillon Clean-up Day, October 4, 2003
The 2003 Summer Carillon Recital Schedule:
(All programs start at 8:00 p.m. except for the July
4th
program which will be at 1:00 p.m.)
June 29 - Judson Maynard
July 4 - Arla Jo Anderton and Roy Wilson
July 6 - Roy Wilson
July 13 - Roy Wilson
July 20 - Arla Jo Anderton
July 27 - Wes Gomer
August 3 - Luis Gonzalez
August 10 - Ann Adcock
Please also note that through at least the middle of August the
carillon will be played
at noon on Fridays (for about 30 minutes) - come to the courtyard
behind the
administration building and bring friends and a picnic lunch!
Carillonneur Arla Jo Anderton at the Texas Tech University carillon console
Click here to hear a segment of Londonderry Air played by Arla Jo Anderton
(If your browser doesn't have a built-in MP3 music file player, find
the nearest
music-loving teenager and ask for help...)
Some of the 36 bells which make up the Texas Tech Carillon
(The roller bars and cranks connected to the bell clappers are
directly linked by wires to the peg-like keys of the console)
Click here to see a diagram
of a typical carillon action mechanism
from the Guild of
Carillonneurs in North America website
(and then use your
browser's back arrow to return to this page)
A view of the back of the Texas Tech carillon console. Note
the wires extending from
the console through the ceiling where they connect to the roller
bars and "cranks" which
cause the bell clappers to strike the appropriate bell when its key
is struck.
Carillonneur Judson Maynard (standing) with Mary
Jeanne van Appledorn
at the Texas Tech carillon console after Dr. Maynard's performance
of one of Dr. van
Appledorn's compositions for carillon, June 2003. Dr. Maynard
was for many years
University Organist and Carillonneur at Texas Tech and was
instrumental in playing,
teaching, and maintaining the instrument.
Some Comments about Carillons by Arla Jo
Anderton, President of the Guild
of Carillonneurs in
North America, 2002-2003
A carillon is a musical instrument composed of at least 23 carillon bells, arranged in chromatic sequence, so tuned as to produce concordant harmony when many bells are sounded together. It is played from a keyboard that allows expression through variation of touch. The keys are struck with the half-closed hand. In addition, the larger bells are connected to foot pedals.
Texas Tech's Carillon: Ruth Baird Larabee, in her will, requested that part of her estate be used to purchase and install a carillon in memory of her parents. They had donated funds to the University of Michigan for its grand carillon in Burton Tower. Mrs. Larabee left farmland and oil royalties to Texas Tech University. A small portion of her estate was used to install the carillon.
The 36 bell Charles and Georgia Robertson Baird Memorial Carillon was installed in the west tower of the Texas Tech University Administration Building in 1976. The largest bell (the bourdon) weighs approximately 800 pounds. The smallest bell weighs about 8 pounds. The 15 larger (lower pitched) bells were cast in 1974 by the van Bergen company in South Carolina. The 21 bells of higher pitch were cast by the French carillon maker Paccard in 1976. The approximate value of these beautiful-sounding bells is $250,000. Installation of the bells was personally supervised by Harry (Harramus) van Bergen, Sr., who was 70 years old at the time. It is said that he became disgusted with the young helpers hired by Texas Tech for the project because they kept going on breaks while he wanted to get on with the work!
For many years the carillon has been played before the Carol of Lights ceremony (a pre-Christmas tradition at Texas Tech). It also has been played at 1:00 p.m. each July 4th, in conjunction with a ceremonial ringing of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The 2003 summer carillon recital series is a renewal of what was for many years a summertime tradition at Texas Tech.
Wonderful recent news is that through the encouragement and support of Dr. Mary Jeanne van Appledorn, Carillonneur/Organist Dr. C. Roy Wilson is now working with several musicians, teaching them to play the carillon.
Dr. C. Roy Wilson at the Texas Tech carillon console - note his hand
position for
striking the peg-like "keys" known as "batons".
Link to the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA)
The Duke University Chapel Carillon
Playing the Carillon: An Introductory Method, by John Gouwens
Department of Music at Texas Tech
This page last updated on August 19, 2005
Photos and MP3 Music file of the carillon by Eric
Blackwell, M.D.
