International Carillon Concert Series begins

Grand Valley's International Carillon Concert series begins Sunday, June 19, with a performance by Ulla Laage, from Denmark, on the Allendale Campus. All concerts are free and open to the public, rain or shine, and will feature performances by internationally renowned carillonneurs.
 
The 17th Annual Cook Carillon International Concert Series, held on the Allendale Campus Sundays at 8 p.m., is from June 19-August 21.
 
The 11th Annual Beckering Family Carillon International Concert Series, held on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus Wednesdays at noon, is from July 6-27.
 
The Chime Master traveling carillon, that weighs 26,000 pounds, including a 4-octave keyboard and 48 bells cast in a Netherlands foundry, will be featured at the July 3 concert in Allendale.  The 8 p.m., performance will be given by Gijsbert Kok, from the Netherlands. The special carillon provided fascination and musical entertainment throughout Europe for 16 years before being purchased by a company in Ohio. It was built in the Netherlands in 1991 and was sized to the dimensions of a standard shipping container and flatbed truck to allow transport to a variety of concert venues. The Chime Master concert at Grand Valley will be held in parking lot G, near the West Campus Drive entrance to campus off 48th Street, to provide ample space for visitors to get up close to an instrument that is usually perched high in a tower.
 
For those who want a bit of carillon music to take home, there is a 2-CD set recently compiled as part of Grand Valley’s 50th Anniversary by Julianne Vanden Wyngaard, university carillonneur and organizer of the annual series. It includes one CD of holiday music recorded on the Beckering Family Carillon and one CD of typical carillon recital music, including a piece commissioned for the university’s anniversary, “Suite IV GVSU 2009,” composed by the late John Courter from Berea College in Kentucky. The CD set, which costs $16, is available at Grand Valley’s University Bookstore or online at www.ubs.gvsu.edu by clicking on the link to 50th Anniversary Gift Items.
 
For more concert information, including details of each performance, call the Department of Music (616) 331-3484, or visit www.gvsu.edu/artscalendar.