Robin Austin was appointed as carillonneur of the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon in Washington Park, Springfield, Illinois. A native of Pennsylvania, Austin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from West Chester University and a Master of Social Service degree from Bryn Mawr College. He began carillon studies with Frank Pechin Law and in 1981 passed the advancement recital examination of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. He studied carillon further with Jacques Lannoy, director of the French carillon school.
He leaves a position as Princeton University Carillonneur, which he held since 1993. As a fundraising professional, Austin also has held a variety of leadership positions at Recording for the Blind, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and most recently, he served as senior principal gifts officer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
