The Berea Forum, a program for all retired senior citizens in the Berea community sponsored by the Berea College Office of Special Programs, will have its final program of the spring semester on Tuesday, May 8. Dr. John Courter, professor of music and carillonneur at Berea, will discuss the history and unique features of the 56-bell carillon recently installed in the tower of the Draper Building. The program is scheduled to begin at 4:30 in the courtyard outside Danforth Chapel, located at the rear of the Draper Building, followed by a carillon concert at 5 p.m.

Refreshments will be served in the Fireside Room adjacent to the Chapel. In case of rain, the lecture will take place in the Chapel.

The program is free and open to the public.

Those attending also are invited to register for a summer bus trip to the Cincinnati Museum Center in the former Union Station planned for Monday, June 4. The trip is being co-sponsored by the Forum and the Berea Woman's Club.

The bus will leave from Boone Tavern at 8:30 a.m. and return at approximately 6 p.m. Cost is $15.50 per person and includes transportation, admission to the Museum of Natural History and Science, the Cincinnati History Museum and an Omnimax Theatre viewing of "Journey into Amazing Caves." There is space for 42 participants and reservations can be made through May 21.

A project initiated in the 1970's through the efforts of Courter, the Berea carillon was installed last summer and dedicated in October. The largest musical instrument of its kind in Kentucky, with a combined bell weight of more than 14,800 lbs., Berea's carillon has design features which put it at the forefront of the carillon world.

Courter, a Berea faculty member since 1971, is an internationally known carillonneur and composer for the carillon. In 1987 and 1995, he spent sabbaticals at the Netherlands Carillon School, performing recitals and earning the Performing Artist's Diploma, the carillonneur's highest level of achievement.

He has won several international prizes with his original carillon compositions and his works have been published in Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. He has performed throughout the U. S. and in Europe, and in 1993, was awarded the prestigious Berkeley Medal for "Distinguished Service to the Carillon" as a performer and composer for the instrument.

For more information on Berea Forum events, contact Sherry Bosch in the Office of Special Programs at 985-3552.