© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Musicians flock to Michigan for 75th Carillon World Congress

One of the carillon bells at U of M's Baird tower
Jennifer Guerra
/
Michigan Radio
One of the carillon bells at U of M's Baird tower

The sound of carillon bells will fill the air this week as Michigan hosts the 75th Carillon World Congress.

A carillon is a set of tuned bells in a tower, which are hooked up to a keyboard played manually by one person called a carilloneur.

Steve Ball plays the Baird carillon at the University of Michigan Baird. He says the role of a carilloneur is to "perfume the air with music for civic occasions and really make the city a more beautiful and artistically enriched place."

He says the carillon is “a completely unknown art," despite the fact that it has been around for centuries:

"It’s the ipod of 1650. It’s the way of creating a public music, something that could be enjoyed by everyone, like a public flower garden except aurally."

Ball and 200 other carillon experts will be in Michigan for the World Carillon Congress this week.

The conference, which runs June 26 - July 2, includes free public concerts at the state’s 12 carillon towers from Ann Arbor to Grand Rapids. You can see a schedule here.

 

Jennifer is a reporter for Michigan Radio's State of Opportunity project, which looks at kids from low-income families and what it takes to get them ahead. She previously covered arts and culture for the station, and was one of the lead reporters on the award-winning education series Rebuilding Detroit Schools. Prior to working at Michigan Radio, Jennifer lived in New York where she was a producer at WFUV, an NPR station in the Bronx.
Related Content