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Carillon News

August 2, 2003
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Brian Swager is a contributing editor of THE DIAPASON.

Next GCNA Congress

Iowa State University and University Carillonneur Tin-shi Tam will host the 57th Congress of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America from Wednesday, June 16 through Saturday, June 19.  The congress will be part of the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the Bells of Iowa State.

The Bells of Iowa State were donated to the University by Edgar Williams Stanton, who graduated with the first class in 1872. Including his years as a student, Stanton spent a half century on campus, becoming a faculty member, head of the department of mathematics, secretary of the Board of Trustees, Dean of the Junior College, Vice President and, on four different occasions, Acting President.

Stanton's first wife was Margaret Price MacDonald Stanton, the University's first Dean of Women, who was a part of Iowa State for almost twenty-five years. When she died in 1895, her husband decided to establish a monument--a free-standing tower with a chime of ten bells. With the help of University President William M. Beard-shear, Stanton chose a site for the tower on central campus, and the state legislature appropriated $7,500 for the construction of the tower and its clock.

The Campanile was built in 1897, designed by an architect from Des Moines, George E. Hallett. The bells were installed in the newly built campanile in 1899. They were the first scientifically tuned bells to be exported by John Taylor & Company of Loughborough, England.

When Stanton died in 1920, his will provided for a second memorial. At the request of his second wife, Mrs. Julia Ann Wentch Stanton, and their children, the university installed twenty-six additional bells and a playing console in the campanile in 1929. The structure thus became known as the Edgar W. and Margaret MacDonald Stanton Memorial Carillon.

In 1954, the trustees of the Stanton Memorial Estate joined with others to create the Stanton Memorial Carillon  Foundation, further advancing the carillon at Iowa State. Soon after the foundation was formed, it purchased thirteen additional treble bells, along with a new playing console. These were installed in 1956, bringing the total number of bells to forty-nine. In 1967, a fiftieth bell was added.

The carillon and campanile were renovated from 1992 to 1994. The renovation of the carillon was completed by the I. T. Verdin Company and Meeks, Watson & Company. The work included a redesign of the framing and positioning of the bells, new clappers for all bells, a new transmission system (radial action) for the instrument, and new playing and practice consoles. The campanile received a new roof, the exterior bricks were repaired, and new clock movements and a digital control system were added to coordinate the operation of the clock and chimes.

Of the fifty bells cast by John Taylor & Company, the bourdon weighs 5,484 pounds and the smallest weighs 9 pounds. The total weight of the bells is 30,855 pounds. The pitches range from the second B-flat below middle C, then chromatically, four octaves from C to C4. The playing console is made according to the North American standard with a two-octave pedalboard (C-C2).

Next year is the centennial anniversary of the Bells of Iowa State.  The university is delighted to have the congress as part of the celebration. Located in Ames, Iowa State University is the nation's oldest land-grant university. Its campus covers nearly 2,000 acres and includes 154 buildings, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. Ames is easily accessed by Interstates 35 and 80. The Des Moines International Airport, located 45 minutes south of Ames, is served by major commercial airlines.

Congress lodging will be in the Iowa State Memorial Union, located across the street from Stanton Memorial Carillon and within walking distance to campus buildings; phone: 515/292-1111; fax: 515/294-1105. Other accommodations are available at Friley Hall, a campus residence hall; phone: 515/294-8384; fax: 515/294-0623. Also available is Iowa House, a guest house located one block south from Iowa State University; phone: 515/292-8870; fax: 515/292-8870.

Inquiries may be directed to the University Carillonneur, Department of Music, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011; phone: 515/294-2911; fax: 515/294-6409. E-mail: <[email protected]>. Further information about the Congress is available on the ISU Homepage: <http://www.music.iastate.edu/carillon&gt;.

Jenny King appointed in Michigan

Jenny Lungershausen King is the new carillonneur at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills and at Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit. Serving as interim carillonneur at Christ Church Cranbrook since the fall of 1995, King was appointed to the re-instated position last year. At Cranbrook she plays twice a month for Sunday morning worship services; for weddings, funerals and memorial services, and for special programs. She is responsible for coordinating the church's long-standing summer carillon series, initiated in 1928 by Anton Brees.

The Wallace carillon at Christ Church Cranbrook was originally installed in 1928. It now comprises 50 Taylor bells and a new keyboard designed and installed by Rick Watson.

King founded an annual summer carillon series at Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church in 1995. She became the official carillonneur at the church last year. The church's 23-bell Gillett and Johnston instrument was installed in 1925 in honor of Henry Russel. The oldest carillon in Michigan and to date the only carillon in Detroit, the Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian instrument likewise is played before and after Sunday worship, for special events and in recital. It features its original playing console.

King studied with Bill De Turk at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church and played her GCNA examination recital in 1991 at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. A graduate of Oberlin College, she is a freelance writer who covers the auto and commercial real estate industries for several publications. In September she took delivery of a 1998 VW New Beetle and figures she may be the first GCNA member to own one. "Hug it, drive it--either way it's great," she said.

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