Princeton University is celebrating its 25th year of its “Tune the Sky!” carillon series featuring guest musicians filling the air every Sunday at 1 p.m. from July 2 through September 3. It is arguably one of the most usual and ancient music traditions occurring in the region (U.S. 1, June 29, 2016).
The carillon is one of the largest musical instruments in the world and uses 23 or more suspended tower bells manually activated from a keyboard-like console.
The Princeton carillon is located in Cleveland Tower on the Princeton University Graduate School campus. While the music can travel more than a mile in all directions, listeners are invited to bring lawn chairs or picnic blankets and baskets to the area around the tower to enjoy the following series of performers from around the nation:
July 2: Jim Fackenthal, associate carillonneur at the University of Chicago.
July 9: Kipp Cortez, assistant professor of music at Concord University, Athens, West Virginia.
July 16: Wesley Arai, a past player at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
July 23: Thomas Le, a Berkeley, California, member of the Guild of Carillonneurs.
August 6: Princeton University carillonneur Lisa Lonie, performing works for carillon and digital Tracks.
August 13: The Treblemakers, a duet featuring Lisa Lonie and Janet Tebbel, a Philadelphia-based performer.
August 20: Tatiana Lukyanova, an international performer and award winning organist based in Hampton, Connecticut.
August 27: Andy Zhang, Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs.
September 3: Joey Cotruvo, former Princeton University graduate student and now assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University.
The Princeton carillon was dedicated in 1927 and features 67 bronze bells cast in England, France, and the Netherlands. The largest bell weighs 12,880 pounds. The carillon and concerts are made possible by an endowment established by the Class of 1892.
Summer Carillon Concerts, Cleveland Tower, Princeton University, 88 College Road West. Free. Rain or shine. 609-258-3654 or www.princeton.edu.
