Towering resonance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqOPVepZe_o

It’s such an ingrained part of campus life that the melodies from the bells in the Burton Memorial Tower may go unnoticed: just background noise from noon to 12:30 when classes are in session.

“Most people just drive past in their car and they think, ‘Oh, the tower is making noise.’ They don’t realize somebody is making music up here,” says Steven Ball, professor in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance and the University’s seventh carillonneur.

This video, produced LSA Today’s Natalie Condon and Rob Hess, gives a tour of the Charles Baird Carillon, a massive musical machine made up of 43,000 pounds of bells that take up the 10th floor of the tower.

Learn more about the Charles Baird Carillon, and take a look at the spring issue of LSA Magazine for a closer look at this campus treasure.

Comments

  1. Allan Tweddle - 1961

    Are there recordings available?

    Reply

  2. Michigan Today

    Allan: You may enjoy the recordings available at this Baird Carillon website. You can reach out to the real experts via various links on that page. Enjoy!–Ed.

    Reply

  3. Ann Kim - 2007

    WOW. Thank you for writing this piece. I had no idea!

    Reply

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