For six consecutive Wednesdays from July through early August, the bells of Beaumont Tower will ring with performances during the 26th Annual Muelder Summer Carillon Concert Series. 

The series welcomes everyone in the community to bring a picnic, chair or blanket to enjoy the talents of the expert carillonists performing on the bells. Free and open to the public, the concerts present excellent opportunities for members of the media to film, photograph, and get reactions from local residents in one of the most beautiful locations on the Michigan State University campus. [Click here for details about these upcoming events]

The following artists will bring their talents to campus and perform at the tower, near the MSU College of Music. 

• Dina Verheyden (July 5) is the carillonist of Puurs and Mechelen and carillon instructor at the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen, Belgium. Richard de Waardt is a carillonist who performs on Rotterdam Tower of Loughborough England and Tholen Tower in Zeeland Netherlands.
• Mathieu Daniel Polak (July 12) is a composer and carillonist at Erasmus University Rotterdam where he is also an instructor with the Netherlands Carillon Center in Amersfoort.
• Simone Browne (July 19) is an independent carillonist from Tucson, AZ and has performed recitals on carillons in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Lithuania, Denmark, the US, and Ukraine.
• Katarzyna Takao-Piastowska (July 26) comes from Poland, Slupsk and is the city carillonneur in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany.
• Andrea McCrady (August 2) is the Dominion Carillonneur of the Peace Tower Carillon and Carillon instructor at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
• Jim Fackenthal (August 9) has served as an associate carillonist at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel in Chicago. He currently performs recitals throughout the United States and is the carillonist at St. Chrysostom’s Church in Chicago.

These artists share their talent in concerts that begin at 6 p.m., rain or shine. Visitors can hear demonstrations, view the bells, and tour Beaumont Tower after each concert.

Beaumont Tower is located on West Circle Drive, in the heart of MSU’s Campus. Built in 1928 following a gift from John W. Beaumont, class of 1882, the John W. Beaumont Memorial Tower sits on the site of College Hall, the first building on the MSU campus and the first building in the United States devoted to teaching scientific agriculture. The tower houses the carillon, a musical instrument that consists of bells arranged chromatically, a keyboard with foot pedals, and an array of cables that connect the keys and pedals to the bells. With only 10 bells when originally constructed, it has grown to 49 bells in the past 90 years, creating an unforgettable sound.

Find more summer events at the MSU College of Music in our event section.

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Press materials

View or download the press release (PDF)
Contact Michael Sundermann, 517-353-2043, sunderm7@msu.edu 

Photography and graphic downloads

The central campus location around West Circle Drive is a beautiful setting for Carillon concerts.

During the Carillon Series, visitors can hear demonstrations, view the bells, and tour Beaumont Tower after each concert.