The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America

Home
United States
New Haven, CT
The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America

Directions Website

The GCNA is a professional organization dedicated to promoting the carillon art in North America.

We are The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA), a professional nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of the carillon art in North America. We are musicians, bellfounders, carillon technicians and builders, and bell enthusiasts. We do not maintain a fixed office or headquarters, nor are we compensated for our work. Rather, we are motivated by our passion for the art, volunteering our time and workspaces. Since our founding in 1936, we’ve been a leading promoter and educator of the carillon art in both North America and the world. We encourage the composition and distribution of carillon music; support the development and expansion of the carillonneur as a profession; and advocate for the building, maintenance, and improvement of new and existing carillons. Learn more about what we’ve been doing all this time on our website: https://www.gcna.org/guild-history

What is a carillon? It is a musical instrument of at least 23 cast bronze bells which are connected to a keyboard. Carillons developed through a series of advancements in timekeeping and bellringing over the last 500 years. They are most concentrated in the Low Countries of Europe, where they originated. However, Americans and Canadians became increasingly interested in the instrument throughout the 1900s, and today there is a thriving carillon culture on the continent. Learn more about carillons on our website: www.gcna.org/about-carillons

10/13/2026

The Michigan State University's Beaumont Memorial Tower in East Lansing is centrally located on campus in an open, wooded park ideal for carillon concerts. With funds donated by John W. and Alice Beaumont, the tower, with a ten-bell chime, was constructed in 1929. Gradually the chime was expanded to a 47-bell carillon, and in 1996 a major reconstruction with 20 replacement and two new bells resulted in the current 49-bell concert carillon. The Muelder Summer Carillon Recital series, now presented on five to six consecutive Wednesdays in July and August at 6:00 p.m., was started in 1996 through the generosity of faculty member and administrator Milton Muelder.

Margo Halsted was the formal consultant on the reconstruction project and served as MSU’s visiting university carillonneur from 1996 to 1997. Her student Ray McLellan held the position of university carillonneur until his untimely passing in April 2021. Jonathan Lehrer started as the new university carillonist in August 2022.

The bells are pitched from C3 to D7, absent two bass notes, although they transpose up one whole step from their keyboard position (lowest bell keyed at B-flat).

Photos by Amanda Schaffer and Jon Lehrer.

Michigan State University College of Music

10/06/2026

In 1926, the Princeton University Class of 1892 began searching for a gift to the University in honor of its 35th reunion. One class member suggested giving a carillon, like the ones he had heard in the Low Countries of Europe. The instrument, he asserted, was a fitting choice, "at once noble yet different from all other gifts."

Gillett & Johnston was selected as the foundry and a representative from the Class traveled to England to witness the casting of the bourdon. When Arthur Bigelow (1910-1967) came to the University in 1941 as a faculty member and University carillonneur, the carillon was barely playable. He immediately renovated the playing action and added 14 new bells of his own design and casting. Meeks & Watson and The Verdin Company replaced all the clappers and headpieces, constructed a new galvanized bell frame, playing cabin, keyboard, and action. In placing the carillon in concert pitch, a new Bb bass was added and the smallest treble removed (now in the University Archive). Princeton's carillon boasts 67 bells, making it one of the world's largest. The bourdon which sounds G, weighs 12,880 pounds. The instrument is played regularly by University Carillonneur Lisa Lonie.

Princeton University Graduate School

09/28/2026

The Ball State University carillon in Shafer Tower consists of 48 bells, ranging in weight from 26 pounds to 5,243 pounds. Although four of the larger bells are arranged so that they may be swung for special occasions, all bells in the carillon are fixed in position when used for musical performances. The bells were cast in Sevrier, France, by the Paccard Bellfoundry in 2001. The console, frame, and most of the mechanism were made by The Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Also of note, the console, layout, and transmission were designed by Richard Strauss. The instrument is typically played for campus events by John Gouwens.

09/21/2026

The Wellesley College Carillon was played for the first time at Commencement in June 1931. What began as a 30-bell Gillett and Johnston instrument was enlarged to a current size of 32 bells in 1990 by the John Taylor Bellfoundry. Benefactor Charlotte Nichols Greene wanted the carillon to be played by the students. The Wellesley College Guild of Carillonneurs does exactly that - with open-tower events, lessons, masterclasses, recitals, and at least 15 concerts a week between classes. The bells of Galen L. Stone Tower are completely woven into the life of the college - small but mighty! Learn more at https://www1.wellesley.edu/music/performanceprogram/ensembles/carillon.

09/14/2026

Since 1986, carillonneurs from around the world have delighted Chicago Botanic Garden visitors with the captivating music of the 48-bell Theodore C. Butz Memorial Carillon. The carillon has remained both a noted landmark and a source of remarkable music at the Garden. Cast in Holland by Petit & Fritsen, the tower's bronze bells and clavier range four octaves. The summer carillon concert series takes place on Tuesday mornings at 10 am with guest performers from around the world.

09/07/2026

The Williams Carillon was cast by the Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry at Asten, The Netherlands, and was dedicated on the University of Denver campus on October 24, 1999. The carillon contains 65 bronze bells, weighing a total of 29,500 kg or 64,900 pounds, with the largest bell weighing six tons.

University Carillonist Joey Brink can be heard Monday through Friday, from 11:45am to 12:15pm, when the university is in session. Denver University also welcomes students looking to major or minor in carillon performance, as well as graduate students seeking an MA or MS in carillon.

Joey offers tours of the tower and takes song requests here: https://liberalarts.du.edu/lamont/academics/carillon-studio.

08/31/2026

The carillon at UC Berkeley began life as a twelve-bell chime, cast by the Taylor Foundry in 1915. The bells were placed in the newly-completed Sather Tower in 1917. Almost immediately the instrument was played three times each day, a tradition that continues to this day. In 1978, the Class of 1928 enlarged the chime to a concert carillon of forty-eight bells, cast by the Paccard Foundry. A few years later, after reading a GCNA Bulletin article by Margo Halsted, Jerry and Evelyn Chambers, alumni of the University, enlarged the instrument to its current sixty-one bells. They also endowed a carillon program, a carillon library, renovation of two floors of the tower, and a full-time position of University Carillonist. Ronald Barnes was the first University Carillonist (1982-1997), Geert D'hollander the second (1997-1999), and Jeff Davis the third (2000-2024). Simone Browne was appointed the fourth University Carillonist in 2026 and oversees an active instructional and performance program. Many graduates of the Berkeley program have passed their GCNA Carillonneur Examination, and regularly perform on carillons throughout the world.

UC Berkeley Department of Music Berkeley Carillon Guild

08/24/2026

The Centralia Carillon consists of 65 bells that were cast in Annecy, France, in 1982 and 1983, by the Paccard Fonderie de Cloches. Although the very first steps of building a carillon in Centralia were taken in 1957, it became a reality in 1982 because of the driving force of William V. Joy, a local bell enthusiast and editor and publisher of the Centralia Sentinel. At the time of his death in 1988, Mr. Joy had established a trust fund for the carillon to ensure the upkeep, the continuous employment of a carillonist, and the carillon’s presence in Centralia for the future. The Bourdon bell, Great Tom, pitched G, has a weight of 11,000 pounds and a diameter of 79.5 inches. The smallest bell pitched C, weighs 20 pounds, with a diameter of 8 inches. The total bell weight is 61,312 pounds, making it one of the heaviest instruments in the world. In 1992, a five-and-a-half octave "North American Standard" practice keyboard was installed. In 1997, the Verdin Company installed a "North American Standard" keyboard with the disposition G-A- chromatic to C5, covering five and a half octaves. In 2001, the installation of a newly designed transmission system was completed by Meeks & Watson.

The Centralia Carillon has just welcomed its new carillonneur, Oisin Dilger, who performs weekly concerts on the instrument. For August, concerts are held at 12 pm Thursday through Saturday.

08/17/2026

The Kaap Memorial Carillon at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Green Bay, WI, consists of 47 bronze bells cast by Petit & Fritsen. The instrument is in concert pitch with bells ranging in weight from 20 to 5,280 pounds. The carillon, a gift of and supported by the Kaap Memorial Carillon Fund, was dedicated in service on December 22, 1957. Learn more at https://www.firstlutherangb.org/page/carillon

📷: Gerald Martindale

08/10/2026

In September 2005, a 37-bell carillon was delivered to Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church and, over the course of several weeks, installed in the church tower. Cast in Aarle-Rixtel, Netherlands by the Petit and Fritsen foundry, the Carillon was assembled and finished by The Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. This carillon was made possible by the generosity of an anonymous donor. In May 2006, the carillon was expanded to 49 bells. The carillon is played regularly before and after Sunday services.

Address

New Haven, CT

Website

http://www.gcna.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your organization to be the top-listed non profit organization in New Haven?