CANBERRA - A Carillon Festival was held at the National Carillon in Canberra on Saturday and Sunday the 15-16 April 2000. The festival was a celebration of 72 years of carillon music and culture in Australia, being 30 years at the National Carillon in Canberra and 72 years at the University of Sydney War Memorial Carillon. The Festival consisted of two days of carillon recitals (which could be observed by the public on a TV monitor), a short Carillon Society meeting and a celebratory dinner.

LAKE MUSIC
Carillonists and invited guests enjoyed the celebratory dinner on the Saturday evening, at which people gave interesting and fascinating accounts of their early association with the instruments. Bill Hoffman, Senior Music Critic from the Canberra Times, spoke about being an invited guest to the opening ceremony of the Canberra Carillon by Queen Elizabeth II on April 26, 1970. After the opening, the Royal Party made an inspection tour of the carillon while John Douglas Gordon, Sydney University carillonist who had acted in an advisory capacity during its construction, gave the first part of a recital. Included in the recital programme was a piece called Lake Music specially written for the opening ceremony by Australian pianist and composer, the late Terry Vaughan.