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THE VIEW FROM THE TOP
A closer look at the Campanile and carillon
By Elise Stawarz
estawarz@kansan.com
Adam Diskin, Overland Park sophomore, likes to play contemporary songs on the Carillon, such as "Clocks" by Coldplay and the Super Mario Brothers Theme.
There are S3 bells in the tower, accessible only by a narrow, dark, winding staircase of 76 stairs in the northeast corner.
On the outside, the Campanile is a simple, tall beige tower, but on the inside it's much more complex. After crossing the usually locked doors in the entryway, and walking up several flights of a very tight, very dark spiral staircase, a visitor is confronted with a concrete landing and the practice room for the carillon, a system of bells housed inside the Campanile.
Inside the practice room are the first of two carillons. A carillon is an organ-like instrument made largely of wood. Its handles and pedals are attached to large bells of varying sizes and the lower the note, the harder it is to push the handle or pedal down because of the amount of force required to ring the bell. These are not hooked up to the 53 huge bells above, but are used for students who are learning the instrument to practice. There are two undergraduate classes for learning to play the carillon, and there's also a graduate program that currently has two students in it. Despite it being a music class, Elizabeth Berghoug, University carillonneur and assistant professor of carillon
The Carillon, an instrument that chimes the bells of the Campanile, much like a church organ.
and organ, says that students come from all majors. This semester, most of her students are from the engineering department. She says many are upperclassman who finally have time in their schedules to take one of the courses.
Students who tend to succeed in class are ones who have a strong background in keyboard because, as Arcata, Calif., junior Maggee Van Speybroeck explains it, the layout is similar to a piano, but the keys are replaced by wooden handles and, like the organ, there are foot pedals as well. When looking at sheet music, the top line of music is shared by both hands and the bottom line is for the feet.
The World War II army rangers had a reunion in 2006, and Berghout played a concert for them made up of music from the 1940s. She says it's one of her favorite performances to date, and she has many. She plays a concert every Sunday at 5 p.m. for whoever might be near enough to hear, and during the summer months, she plays on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Though she enjoys performing, it is much different than most musica
Students like Van Speybroeck have been at the helm since the Campanile was built in 1950. Classes have been offered every year since its construction.The Campanile was built with contributions from more than 8,000 donors, and made as a World War II memorial to honor the 277 students and faculty who died during the war.Those veterans' names are displayed in the entryway of the Campanile, along with a list of donor names and the saying "Free government does not bestow repose upon its citizens but sets them in the vanguard of battle to defend the liberty of every man." The saying circles the top of the entryway and, like the veterans' names, is engraved in stone.
performances. "It's a public instrument, but when you're up there alone, you forget that everyone else hears the bells too," Van Speybroeck says.
Adam Diskin usually remembers that others are listening to him because of his fear of messing up.The Overland Park sophomore, who's studying communications, became interested in learning to play after talking with a friend in the course. He had a keyboard background and thought the course would be fun, which it turned
out to be. Two hours of practice are required outside of class, and playing a song incorrectly can be stressful,"Especially when it's the Alma Mater." Diskin says. He enjoys playing his favorite music, such as Coldplay's "Clocks" and the Super Mario Brothers theme, by ear.
The strains of music may have changed from religious hymns to popular music, but the draw of the Campanile and carillon is as strong as ever.
Photos by: Taylor Miller
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for more information: www.carillon.ku.edu
02.28.2008
VOL. 5 ISS. 22 05