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.
Schedule of Carillon
Recitals for the Summer of 2009
(All programs start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise
noted;
benches are available in the Administration Building
courtyard,
or bring your own lawn chairs and picnic)
Sunday June 7th - Roy Wilson and Cole Shooter,
Lubbock, TX
Sunday, June 14th - Judson Maynard, Denton, TX
Sunday, June 21st - Judson Maynard, Denton, TX
Sunday, June 28th - Denise Koncelik, Wichita Falls, TX
Saturday, July 4th (at 9:00 a.m.) - Roy Wilson and Cole
Shooter,
Lubbock, TX
Sunday, July 5th - Roy Wilson and Cole Shooter, Lubbock,
TX
Sunday, July 12th - Will Balch, Katy/Austin, TX
Sunday, July 19th - Arla Jo Anderton, Lubbock, TX and Soo
Min and Soo
Hyun Chae, Seoul, South Korea
Sunday, July 26th - Denise Koncelik, Wichita Falls, TX
The Carillon Bell Tower at Texas Tech
University,
with full moon rising in the clouds - July 6, 2009
Photo by Eric Blackwell
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.
Dedicatory Plaque for the Carillon at the base of the Tower
NOTE: Much of 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
Carillonneur Arla Jo Anderton at the Texas Tech
University
carillon console
(before its replacement with a new console in August 2005)
Click here to hear a segment of
Londonderry Air played by Arla Jo Anderton
Judson Maynard at the new carillon console in 2007
Carillonneur Roy Wilson
playing the Matador Song on the new console on July 4, 2009
Click here to listen to his playing
of the
Matador Song
Some of the 36 bells which made up the Texas Tech Carillon
before the 2004-2005 renovation
(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)
Part of the new expanded
carillon bell set (the netting is designed to keep the
pigeons
out of the bell tower!)
A view of the back of the pre-2005 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 June
20, 2013
Photos and MP3 Music files of the carillon by
Eric
Blackwell, M.D.
except as otherwise noted
