Carillons at The University of Michigan

01/21/2025

Thank you to the dozens of audience members who braved the extreme cold to attend our simultaneous noon carillon recitals at Burton and Lurie Towers for the U-M Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium on Monday, January 20!

01/10/2025

As winter term begins, the Carillon Guild at the University of Michigan reflects on a whirlwind fall semester of performances, most notably a combined studio trip to Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church and St. Mary of Redford, the two carillons in the city of Detroit. Guild members participated in over 10 recitals between October and early December. Highlights included a joint performance of student guilds at the 2024 University of Michigan Organ Department Conference, two Halloween recitals (in costume!), a prelude for the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club, two election-themed recitals, a holiday concert, and more.

The Guild will kick off a new semester in a noontime concert of music inspired by Black activists and artists on Monday, January 20 at Lurie Tower, in conjunction with the U-M Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium. Stay tuned for more information!

12/03/2024

We hope you'll consider joining us here at SMTD!! Application deadline is December 1st-link here and in bio.

https://smtd.umich.edu/department/organ/

10/23/2024

An Invitation to the Community - Reflect in a wash of electronic and acoustic sound with Garrett Schumann, Sara Tea, and Julie Zhu: https://resosounda2.com/

08/04/2024

Congratulations Doris Aman on building such a remarkable carillon program at the University of Rochester, and to Carson Landry MM '24 who steps in to guide the program into a bright future!

06/21/2024

Carillon alumni, join us at our alumni reception in San Francisco at the upcoming American Guild of Organists convention!

Headed to the AGO Convention in San Francisco? So are we!

Join us for a UM Alumni reception at the Convention Hotel, the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, on Tuesday, July 2nd following the evening concert (10pm-11:30pm) in Nob Hill D. Professors Nicole Keller, Organist and Tiffany Ng will be present to welcome you and introduce you to our newest faculty member, Professor Caroline Robinson. Let us know below if you plan to attend!

06/20/2024

Don't miss the Ann Arbor Summer Festival's incredible lineup! The Westminster Quarters at Burton Tower, which ring every 15 minutes, will remain off during the festival, but festival sounds will be filling the air every Tuesday through Sunday night for the rest of the month. See you at Top of the Park!

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival takes place June 14-30! This annual festival celebrates live music concerts to art exhibitions, food, movies, and much more. We’ve compiled this handy guide to help you plan your perfect A2SF experience.

06/17/2024

Congratulations to recent alumnus Alexander Gedeon, who earned his Carillonneur Member professional certification from The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America at last week's annual GCNA Congress and published his original composition "Momentum" with the GCNA's press! Alex has been playing carillon for nearly three years, having developed a passion for the instrument during his undergraduate years at U-M. While he holds a Master's degree in Computer Science, he spends his free time immersed in music. He is also a pianist and a violist, having written music for all three instruments during his time at Michigan. In school, he studied with Drs. Tiffany Ng and Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra and frequently performed public recitals. While carillon is his most recent instrument, it is his favorite due to the challenges and opportunities the idiosyncratic sonorities of different carillons bring to the overall musical experience, whether by writing music attuned to an individual instrument, or through adapting performances according to an instrument’s personality. Alex currently lives in Seattle working as a software engineer and hopes to stay well-connected with the carillon community for many years to come. 🎶✏️🔔

06/14/2024

Congratulations to Swenny Yan Xue, class of 2024, on being awarded her Associate Carillonneur certificate at the annual Congress of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America! Swenny is both a pianist and carillonist, with a rich background in choral music dating back to her middle school days. Her musical journey led her to the carillon in 2021 at the University of Rochester. After transferring to the University of Michigan in 2022, she continued her carillon studies under Professors Tiffany Ng and Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra. Having recently graduated with a B.A. in Economics and minors in Mathematics and Music from U-M, Swenny will begin her Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Washington this coming September. She hopes to integrate her passion for music with her academic pursuits. 🔔🎓🎶

06/12/2024

Congratulations to 2023 alumna Dr. Michelle Lam on her election to the Board of Directors of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America! Michelle is an Associate Carillonneur at the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, VA, and serves as co-chair of the GCNA Finance Committee. She studied carillon at the University of Michigan and Wellesley College, and became the resident carillonist at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in the Detroit metro area from 2019 to 2022. Dr. Lam attained Carillonneur status from the GCNA in 2022. Her recitals and work in the carillon community focus on highlighting people of color, women, and lesser played works. Together with Dr. Elisa Tersigni, she received a Barnes Grant in 2020 to study the evolution of carillon culture. Outside of carillon, she graduated with her economics PhD in 2023 and works as an antitrust economist in Washington. Committed to radical transparency, making data-driven decisions, and empowering people to institute change, Dr. Lam's inbox is always open for comments, suggestions, and queries.

https://www.gcna.org/leadership

06/01/2024

Congratulations to Dr. Tommy Lau on passing the Associate Carillonneur Examination (ACE) of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America and completing his degree at University of Michigan School of Dentistry! 🎓🔔🎉

Tommy Lau is a recent Doctor of Dental Surgery graduate from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Besides performing dental artistry through his hand skills in the clinics, Tommy has enriched his daily schedule with early morning or lunch hour practice sessions at Burton Memorial Tower in his scrubs! He studied the carillon under the guidance of Profs. Tiffany Ng and Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra and would like to thank them for their inspiration in story-telling through music and teaching. In addition, Tommy is very thankful to the Carillon Guild at University of Michigan for fostering a supportive community on his musical journey.

05/20/2024

MLive highlighted our XRXF exhibit, "Otsi’tsistó:sera: Native Plants & Planting Songs at the Carillon," and performances of music by Native composers Connor Chee, Dawn Avery, Artist, and Beverley McKiver, Pianist, Music Educator in this important article about the long Native American history that precedes the Ann Arbor Bicentennial's history.

American pioneers John Allen and Elisha Rumsey stumbled upon lands already inhabited when they founded Ann Arbor 200 years ago.