Carillon Society of Britain and Ireland

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Thanks to Dickon Love for sharing this story of the carol "The chime of bells inspires the midnight breeze..."

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Barnsley Museum revives factory worker's 1933 Christmas carol The carol was found by researchers during work to mark the 90th anniversary of Barnsley Town Hall.

Pernille is currently a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK.

Moonglades, by Pernille Faye Norwegian/Irish composer Pernille Faye is one of two contest winners to receive a GCNA commission in 2023. Based in London, she attended the R...

Autumn Meeting of the Carillon Society of Britain and Ireland

Saturday 14 October 2023, 13:00-16:00, Loughborough War Memorial Tower, Queens Park

Celebrating 100 years of women in the carillon in the UK and Ireland

This meeting will celebrate the contributions of women to the carillon art in the UK and Ireland and abroad. All are welcome. An RSVP to the Secretary ([email protected]) is welcome so numbers can be planned for.

Attendees will learn about some of the stories from the recent project 'A Century of Women and the Carillon', as well as have a chance to share stories of other women, including their own as appropriate.

There will also be recitals of music composed for the carillon by women played on the 47-bell Loughborough War Memorial carillon (https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/tower/17781).

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A sample of a story to be presented: Nora Violet Johnston was a critically acclaimed actor and producer, carillonist, and inventor who concertized across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. After a career in theatre in the UK working with figures such as Maurice Maeterlinck and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, she studied at the Royal Carillon School in Belgium (alongside Adèle Colson) with Jef Denyn. After graduating on February 26, 1933 as the school's first Englishwoman diploma holder, she established herself as one of the few actively touring women carillonists. Johnston performed a number of momentous concerts in her career: notably, she inaugurated the YMCA carillon in Jerusalem (donated by Amelia Jarvie) and the theatre organ-operated carillon at Regal Cinema in London, performed for the baptism of Prince Charles, and played at the White House for First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Pictured: Nora Johnston in stage costume for a show at Aeolian Hall featuring Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's melodrama "The Clown and the Columbine" (The Tatler, no. 437, Nov. 10, 1909)

Today marks 100 years since Loughborough’s Carillon Tower officially opened.

An event is being held in Queen’s Park in Loughborough. A special recital is being performed at 1pm before a Thanksgiving Service at 2pm.

You can learn more about the history of the tower and the town by visiting a number of the information stalls positioned in Queen’s Park.

The Carillon Tower will also be open for the public to explore throughout the day.

Apologies - yes they’re old pictures (sorry!) ‘cos the weather turned inclement and, I wanted to show some decent pictures of this beautiful and unique campanile! Had a fantastic time playing for Loughborough Carillon Tower & War Memorial Museum centenary today! A HUGE shoutout and massive thanks to my good friend, the wonderfully talented Caroline Sharpe for the invite!

A look back at Platinum Jubilee Bells with Dr. Ian Cassells playing at Perth…many thanks to Andrew Mitchell for posting this our way!

Platinum Jubilee Bells This is "Platinum Jubilee Bells" by Oakford Media on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

The CSBI is exhibiting today at . Come check us out to learn more about carillons and chimes, our activities, and how you can get involved.

A new YouTube channel has been created entitled Carillon Jon! Join Jon as he explores the carillons of Britain, Ireland and further beyond. Please feel free to subscribe and share!

https://youtube.com/channel/UC2lVb07YLLINWFOWD7hBbRw

Carillon Jon - YouTube A channel dedicated to carillons in the UK and further beyond! Subscribe to learn more about them!

We've been quiet for a bit, as we have some exciting news to share.

Re: the Carillon Society of Britain and Ireland

Since its founding, members based in and representing carillons in Ireland have been instrumental in its activities and efforts. I am proud to share that, in recognition of this, at the 2022 Annual General Meeting a motion was passed to rename the society the Carillon Society of Britain and Ireland (CSBI).

The British Carillon Society was founded in 1976, with its inaugural meeting at St Mary’s Lowe House, St. Helens. Since then, the principal aims of the society have been to promote the art of the carillon in Britain and Ireland, having a particular concern for carillons and chimes played by the traditional baton keyboard. The society has held regular meetings and publishes a newsletter, as well as publications of new music and historical works for carillon. The society has also cooperated with other regional carillon societies and the World Carillon Federation, of which it is a member.

This new name reflects more accurately the geographical domain of interest of the Society, and in particular the contributions made by Adrian Gebruers (Carillonneur of St Colman's Cathedral, Cobh) to the society over many years. A motion was also passed at the 2022 AGM to make Adrian an Honorary Life Member of the CSBI.

I look forward to sharing updates of the society and its activities as we move forward from this important decision and approach our 50th anniversary in 2026.

On Saturday 5 March, Bournville Carillon will join many of the 680 carillons worldwide that will play a message of peace and support for the people of Ukraine. A special recital will take place at 12 noon.

This symbolic action was set up by the World Carillon Federation, and is fully supported by both the Russian and Ukrainian carillonneurs. The program will include the Ukraine National Anthem, several traditional tunes, and Prayer for Ukraine by Mykola Lysenko.

The St David's Day recital will follow at 3pm.

🎄TOMORROW🎄

Hello everybody. We thought we would slip in one more event this year by way of an informal afternoon of Carols and Festive Music performed by members of the home-team on the Christie and Thanksgiving Carillon.

This is also the ideal opportunity to come and meet the team and discover more about the Christie.

See the poster below for further details.

(Please feel free to share)

The British Carillon Society has relaunched its music publications, a large collection of compositions and arrangements of carillon music.

The collection features many publications from John Knox and other musical works, especially for two- and three-octave carillons. More details of the current publications available and how to order is available on our website:

http://www.britishcarillons.org/uncategorized/bcs-relaunch-music-publications/

BCS to relaunch music publications | British Carillon Society BCS to relaunch music publications The British Carillon Society has relaunched its music publications, a large collection of compositions and arrangements mostly produced by our late and esteemed colleague John Knox, who set the highest standards for carillon music. The list of publications currentl...

We've got a new look!

Shout out to Emily Long (https://emilylongdata.myportfolio.com/) for working with us to revamp our logo.

BCS Autumn Meeting 2021
October 16, 2021 (TODAY!)

Opening Recital (13.00-14.00)
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CAROLINE SHARPE
Prelude No. 5 - Matthias van den Gheyn
Pur ti miro – Cluadio Monteverdi
Melodie in F - Arthur Rubenstein
Utrechts Jolijt - Johan Wagenaar

SCOTT ALLAN ORR
Prelude No. 8 - Matthias van den Gheyn
Klokkenzang - Jos D'hollander
Irish Air - Geert D'hollander
Poeme pour Ann Arbor - Emilien Allard
Raindrop Prelude - Chopin (arr. van Assche)
Rilke Fantasie - John Courter
Sonatine - Stefano Coletti

Talks (14.15-15.15)
Location: Meeting Room, Charnwood Museum; Granby St, Loughborough LE11 3DU
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An introduction to the library and archives of the BCS, and the relaunch of BCS Publications
MICHAEL BOYD

An update on the William Wooding Starmer project: final steps and dissemination plans
SCOTT ALLAN ORR

15.15-17.00: Open tower time (15.15-17.00)
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17.00 onward: Social in the Moon and Bell
Location: 6 Ward's End, Loughborough LE11 3HA
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BCS Autumn Meeting 2021: Loughborough, Sat 16 Oct 2021 | British Carillon Society BCS Autumn Meeting 2021: Loughborough, Sat 16 Oct 2021 Saturday 16 October 2021 Loughborough Carillon and War Memorial, Queen’s Park, Loughborough, UK This event is open to anyone interested to listen to and learn more about carillons; if you are not a member of the BCS, an email to the Secretary...

A memorial music concert in remembrance of Dr. Ian Brunt is being performed at St. Helen’s Church, St. Helen Auckland, County Durham at 1400 on Saturday 18th Sept.

Please feel free to contact Jon Bradley at [email protected] if you would like any more information about this event.

🔔🔔 Event announcement! 🔔🔔

British Carillon Society Autumn Meeting 2021
Saturday 16 October 2021
Loughborough Carillon and War Memorial, Queen's Park, Loughborough, UK

Full details (and further details of the programme TBD) available on the BCS website:

http://www.britishcarillons.org/uncategorized/bcs-autumn-meeting-2021-loughborough-sat-16-oct-2021/

BCS Autumn Meeting 2021: Loughborough, Sat 16 Oct 2021 | British Carillon Society BCS Autumn Meeting 2021: Loughborough, Sat 16 Oct 2021 Saturday 16 October 2021 Loughborough Carillon and War Memorial, Queen’s Park, Loughborough, UK This event is open to anyone interested to listen to and learn more about carillons; if you are not a member of the BCS, an email to the Secretary...

Open Day 11th September

The Carillon Tower will be open for visitors on Saturday 11th September from 10am till 4pm. Visitors will be able to climb the tower to the balcony; but there will be certain restrictions.

Visitors are asked to maintain social distancing and wear masks on the ground floor, the Clavier room and the stairs.

No more than 10 people at a time will be allowed up the tower at a time and will be limited to 20 minutes per group.

Under 18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Volunteers will be on hand to explain our future plans

Hello everyone, we have an event this month to help ease us back into operation again and to give us an enthusiasm boost. Please share far and wide, be good to see you there. Thank you.

Didn't get a chance to watch Trevor Workman's recital at the World Carillon Federation Congress 2021? It's now available to watch here and includes some additional content.

WCF Congress 21 - Trevor Workman and the Bournville Carillon (Extended) Trevor Workman's recital representing Great Britain at the World Carillon Federation Congress 2021. This version includes the official recital and 2 additional…