Berea College Summer Carillon Concert Series features John Courter Aug. 3

The 56-bell carillon in Draper Tower is Kentucky’s largest.  Seating in the College Quadrangle is provided, and a video monitor will allow persons at ground level to view the player in action.  Concerts last for one hour, and admission is free.

Courter’s program will begin with three short pieces by Felix Mendelssohn, whose 200th birth anniversary is being celebrated this year. Born the same year was American poet Edgar Allan Poe, whose poem “The Bells” inspired American composer Robert Kleinschmidt to create a Suite for carillon in 1934.  Three familiar hymn tunes (“A Mighty Fortress,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Sweet Hour of Prayer”) are heard next.

Three promising young composers were studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in the early 1930s. The opportunity to spend the winter of 1931 in sunny central Florida appealed to Samuel Barber, Gian-Carlo Menotti and Nino Rota, so they went to Bok Tower in Lake Wales, Fla. to compose for the carillon. In 1934, some of their best carillon works were published by G. Schirmer, the first carillon works published in America.  Several of these compositions will be played by Courter.

Music from Broadway and film scores will conclude the program with Kurt Weill’s “September Song,” Harry Warren’s “September in the Rain” and Harvey Schmidt’s “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks.

All are invited to attend this festive Summer Carillon Concert Series. The final concert will be on Labor Day, Sept. 7, and will feature Steven Ball, carillonneur of the University of Michigan.