GCNA Congress: Berea, Kentucky
The 61st annual congress of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America will be held June 17-20 on the campus of Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. Congress host, Professor John Courter, will welcome guests with an evening recital on 16 June. The 56-bell carillon in the Phelps Stokes Chapel tower was installed in the year 2000. It features a new carillon console design by Richard Strauss that incorporates European standard manual spacing and an American standard pedalboard.
Tin-shi Tam will speak about bells and bell music of China. E. Michael Harrington will speak on copyright law and how it affects carillon arrangers, performers, and concert sponsors. Joseph Daniel and Margo Halsted will discuss the new publication, 17th Century Belgian Carillon Music. John Gouwens will present his new Instruction Method for Carillon. Richard Strauss will discuss and answer questions about Berea’s playing console. A recital of 21st-century carillon music will include the premiere of a piece by Stephen Paulus that was commissioned by the Johan Franco Committee of the GCNA.
There will be an optional post-congress trip on Saturday, June 21. Participants will visit the Meeks and Watson Bellfoundry in Georgetown, Ohio, and the Verdin factory in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a stop in Newport, Kentucky, to see and hear the World Peace Bell. The Meeks and Watson visit will feature tours and the actual casting of a bell. At the Verdin factory, a reception will celebrate the 50-year collaboration of the Verdin Company with the Petit and Fritsen Bellfoundry. Frank Fritsen of The Netherlands will be honored. The afternoon will conclude with a picnic at Rick Watson’s house, where participants will be invited to play music on his newly installed house organ.
For more details on the 2003 Congress, see the GCNA website: <www.gcna.org>.
Delius Society sponsors recital
The Philadelphia Branch of The Delius Society sponsors Lisa Lonie in a carillon recital at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, May 18 at 2:30 pm. With the theme "Bells Over the Meadows," the recital features two works of Frederick Delius, several carillon compositions, transcriptions, and arrangements of popular songs. Lonie is carillonneur and director of summer concerts at St. Thomas' Church, Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania. The principal aim of The Delius Society is simply to bring together those interested in Frederick Delius (1862-1934) and his music. While the membership list includes leading Delius scholars and performers, the majority of members are not professional or even performing musicians and join purely because of their interest in, or love for, the music of Delius.
