The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America 2025 Congress in Lawrence, Kansas
The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) held its annual congress at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, June 10–14. Elizabeth Berghout, carillonist and associate professor of music at the university, along with a dedicated team of volunteers, were gracious hosts.
The University of Kansas (KU) has a proud history of fostering innovative carillon composition, which began during the tenure of Ronald Barnes as KU’s first university carillonneur, 1951–1963. Barnes, who was an accomplished composer during and after his time at KU, cultivated creative relationships with composers such as Roy Hamlin Johnson, Jean Miller, John Pozdro, Katherine Mulky Warne, and Gary White. Many of these composers used octatonicism in their carillon works to great effect, leaning into the bells’ strong minor third partials as a foundational element of their pieces’ tonal framework. Barnes’s successor, Albert Gerken, was himself a prolific carillon composer and arranger, and Elizabeth Berghout continues to compose, arrange, and collaborate with others to this day.
KU’s grand carillon consists of fifty-three bells spanning four and a half octaves, cast by the John Taylor Bellfoundry of Loughborough, England, during 1950 and 1951. The instrument transposes one half-step below concert pitch and occupies the landmark World War II Memorial Campanile, erected in honor of the 277 KU community members who lost their lives in the war. The 120-foot-tall tower sits atop Mount Oread, the highest point of the campus, complete with a large lawn and a pond.
Solo carillon recitals were given by Koen Van Assche, Elizabeth Berghout, Annie Gao (a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2025), John Gouwens, Alex Johnson (a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2021), Eddy Mariën, and Tiffany Ng. Van Assche and Mariën also gave masterclasses. Many additional members participated in group recitals to premiere new GCNA music publications, prizewinners of the Warner Arrangements and Transcriptions Competition, prizewinners of the two Johan Franco composition contests, and newly published works by the late Émilien Allard (1915–1979).
Presentations addressed various KU-affiliated composers (given by Elizabeth Berghout, David Hunsberger, and Tin-Shi Tam), women and the carillon (Tiffany Ng and Michelle Lam), and arranging popular music (Joey Brink, a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2015). One panel discussion allowed composers and performers to introduce the Franco Contest prizewinning pieces before their premieres, and another panel explored future directions in carillon composing and commissioning.
Nine candidates passed their examination recitals and advanced to Carillonneur member status. They were Katherine Chen (University of Chicago), Anton Fleissner (Princeton University), Elisa Gao (University of Chicago), Vinson Lam (University of Michigan), Daniel Lu (Yale University), Jeremy Ng (Yale University), Isaiah Suchman (Yale University), Evelyn Sun (University of Chicago), and Peter Zhang (Yale University).
A highlight was a performance by Max Linares on the magnificent 1996 Wolff organ, Opus 40 (see cover feature, October 2020 issue), in Bales Organ Recital Hall. Linares, who studies organ and carillon at KU, offered a fittingly bell- and carillon-themed program with works by Marcel Dupré, Cecilia McDowall, Henri Mulet, Leo Sowerby, and Louis Vierne.
The gathering was generously sponsored by Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry (the Netherlands), The Verdin Company (Cincinnati, Ohio), and the KU School of Music and Division of Organ and Church Music. The GCNA will meet again in June 2026 (dates and location to be determined), and the World Carillon Federation will host its next world congress at the National Palace in Mafra, Portugal, June 24–28, 2026.
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