Music
University Daily Kansan / Thursday, October 5, 1989
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For whom the Campanile tolls
Story by Stacy Smith Photos by Julie James
Like a bird returning to its perch high amidst the tree tops, Albert Gerken, professor of music theory, climbs the 72-step spiral staircase of the Campanile every morning to his music room.
On this fall day, leaves have blown into the room at the base of the tower. Gerken pushes several aside as he unlocks the door to the staircase that leads to the top.
b) He moves quickly up the staircase, which shakes with every step. But he
Bells, weighing from 10 pounds to seven tons, are poised overhead. The 38-year-old carillon, valued at $750,000, awaits repair more...
which shakes with every step. But he knows the way well after 26 years. As he sits at the carillon, his eyes fixed on the sheet music before him, his fists move swiftly across the batons of the instrument. The music drifts across campus and mingles with the sounds of students' voices as they rush off to class.
Gerken, 51, has been the carillonneur at the University of Kansas since 1983.
Albert Gerken performs concerts on Wednesdays and Sundays.
The melodies of the carillon, which is located within the Campanile tower, have been enjoyed by members of the University and Lawrence communities since the tower was completed in 1951.
On a really clear day, if the wind is blowing fairly well, you can hear it far as away as downtown," Gerken said. "This is a very special instrument. It's certainly one of the finest sets of bells I've played."
Gerken has given carillon concerts every Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon since he came to the University. To prepare for the concerts, he practices three or four hours every day.
"This consumes so much of my time," he said. "But I really enjoy this instrument a lot. I never tire of it. During the course of the semester, I try to play as much music as possible."
Carillons are played with wooden batons or keys that are pushed down with a closed fist or sometimes with an open hand for chords. There are pedal keys that are worked with the feet to duplicate the lower octaves of the manual batons.
Gerken performs year-round in his small playing room, which is 70 feet off the ground. In the summer, he fights the heat. In the winter, he has only a small heater in the corner to keep him warm.
But still he plays
Directly above him hang 53 bells of varying size, weighing from 10 pounds to seven tons. Gerken said that there were approximately 200 carillons in North America but that not all of them could be played because of deterioration.
A clock hangs on the wall directly across from him as he sits at the carillon console. It is synchronized with the bells, which are programmed to chime every quarter hour.
The 38-year-old KU carillon in the Campanile also is beginning to show its age. When the Campanile was completed in 1951, the bells of the carillon were worth $80,000. Gerken said they were now worth approximately $750,000.
$300,000 in repairs need to be made
on the instrument, Gerken said. The keyboards in both the practice and performance room need to be replaced, the bolts connecting the S3 bells to the frame need to be removed and inspected, the bell clapper bearings need to be replaced, the insulation between the frame and the bells needs to be replaced and part of the playing mechanism needs to be removed, he said.
A proposal for these repairs was made in 1894, but funds have not yet been received from the administration.
"I've gotten 100 percent support from everyone. It's just taken awhile to channel this through the administration."
"We're looking at a major overhaul on this instrument," he said. "They've been well aware of the problem, and I think their solution has been to make it part of Campaign Kansas.
The only other carillon in Kansas is located at St. Mary's of the Plains College in Dodge City. Gerken said it was not technically a true carillon, however, because it has an electronic keyboard.
Gerken, who has played concerts across the country, said each carillon was unique in its own way.
"Carilions are not standardized. They're different everywhere depending upon the number of bells and their sizes," he said. "You have to prepare for it and practice for it and adapt quickly. It's one of the hazards of the profession."
He started playing the piano when, he was 5 years old and the organ when he was 13. Music was a natural part of his life.
Gerken received his undergraduate degree in organ at the University of New Hampshire in 1960 and his graduate degree at the University of Michigan in 1962. He decided to learn to play the carillon while he was at Michigan.
"I just did it to broaden my education," he said. "I really didn't know where I was heading. It just seemed like a natural complement to organ. I had been a teacher already, but really intended to make this my full-time profession."
"I guess you could say music won out," he said.
Gerken studied engineering for two years in college before he decided to try music.
Teaching his trade has become a second love for Gerken. He teaches up to five students a semester. Last semester he had three; this semester he has one. He said non-music majors could take his carillon class if they had some background in music.
"They do it for the diversity of it," he said. "You can learn the basics of playing this instrument in a semester."
His student this semester, Laura Ellis, Albert Lea, Minn., graduate student, is taking her third semester of carillon. She said she practiced for an hour every day in the Campanile's practice studio, which contains a
duplicate of the carillon with tuned metal bars in place of the bells.
"It's different than any other type of instrument, but it's fun," Ellis said. "It takes time, but anything you want to do well takes time."
Gerken said he wanted his students to play the real instrument as soon as possible.
"Once they've begun a piece and we feel fairly confident with it, we can take it upstairs to play," he said.
"I think when you first go up and you realize everyone out there is going to hear you, it's difficult to break the ice."
play on the actual instrument each day, She said, however, that she was extremely nervous when she first went up to play.
"I don't know if scary is the word, but you know that everyone is going to hear every mistake," she said. "I can tell you the fear that 'everyone is listening.'"
Ellis said she tried to find time to
Ellis said she decided to take the class because of Gerken's excellent reputation.
"it was interested in it, and Professor Gerken is one of the best in the country," she said. "As long as he's interested, I thought it might as well give it a shot."
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