Athens  |  United States  |  November 7, 2024

Highlights of Congress held at Concord University

The 2024 GCNA Congress was held June 5-8 in Athens, West Virginia, at Concord University. The campus sits nestled in the Appalachian Mountains and rightfully earns the moniker "The Campus Beautiful". Jesse Ratcliffe, a Concord alumnus, and Dr. Jacob Womack, Chair of the Department of Fine Arts and Communications, were our hosts for the week.

The instrument, housed in a tower on top of the administrative building Marsh Hall, is a 48-bell Paccard instrument from 1997. What a treat it was to listen to such sweet bells for the week!

Highlights of the Congress included two recitals made up entirely of duets, with music ranging from Jacob van Eyck to Irving Berlin to Ronald Barnes (even a little Scott Joplin!); four artist recitals; lectures; performances of the 2024 Johan Franco commissions; and a whopping 16 Carillonneur Exam recitals. The 2024 class, the "Sweet 16", were all welcomed to Carillonneur membership towards the end of the week. Closing out the festivities was a banquet on the final night, where we heard a brief history of the instrument's inception from a former Concord president.

A huge thank you to Jesse and Jacob for putting on a fantastic Congress!

New Carillonneur Members

James Collings, Michelle Pan, Austin Ferguson, Sydney Nguyen, Cao Linh Pham, Jennifer Lory-Moran, Alan Bowman.

New Carillonneur Members

Michael Dixon, Amy Hamburg-Mead, Yurou Li, Joshua Fenwick, Alexander Gedeon. Not pictured: Julian Hovanec, Levi Kelley, Naoko Tsujita, Rowan Shih.

United States  |  June 7, 2024

New Transcription of Early Carillon Music

In the 18th century the art of carillon in the Southern Netherlands experienced a great heyday. It was, among others, the time of the carillon virtuosos Joannes de Gruytters and Matthias Vanden Gheyn.

Recently, the best of what the Southern Netherlands carillon music has to offer is available in a beautiful playing edition, edited by American carillonneur Carson Landry. The book offers an anthology from the carillon book of Joannes de Gruytters, the Leuven Carillon Manuscript, the autograph of Matthias Vanden Gheyn and the carillon book of Frans de Prins. The book is printed on thick paper and has a ring binder so that it can be opened on a keyboard desk.

An enrichment of every carillonist's repertoire!

To purchase, contact beiaardschool@mechelen.be.

Cover and a sample of the new publication featuring 18th-century Flemish carillon music.

Athens  |  United States  |  March 8, 2024

Ringing in the Hills – 2024 GCNA Congress

The faculty and staff of Concord University extend a gracious southern West Virginian welcome to the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America to attend the 2024 GCNA Congress to be held on Concord's campus June 5 – 8, 2024, in Athens, West Virginia.

The Marsh Memorial Carillon (48 Paccard bells) was dedicated by Robin Austin in 1997 and was recently refurbished by Chime Master in 2016. This concert pitch instrument uses carbon-fiber rods instead of traditional metal wires which greatly reduces noise at the console.

As the beautiful bells ring over campus, you will find navigating the schedule for presentations, masterclasses, vendors, and meals to be efficient and easy. We hope that you not only enjoy the musical formation and camaraderie, but also use this time as a retreat.

Link to the full article (PDF-document).

Marsh Family Memorial Carillon

The carillon of Concord University consists of 48 bells.