Four free concerts remain in Oakland University's "Six Fridays at 6" Summer Carillon Concert Series, with guest musicians performing each Friday at 6 p.m. at Elliott Tower in Rochester Hills through August 14.
The series brings internationally trained bell musicians to the 151-foot limestone-and-brick tower on the OU campus, where 49 bronze bells weighing more than 15 tons ring out over the surrounding greens.
"There are 180 carillons in North America," Dennis Curry, OU's resident carillonneur, told the Oakland Post at the series opener on Friday, July 10. "There's just over 600 in the whole world. So, Michigan is very fortunate."
The series opened with Jeremy Chesman, a carillonneur from Missouri who played selections from the musical "Wicked," "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Take Five." John Widmann performed Friday, July 17. At the opener, listeners sprawled across the campus greens, scattered and hunting for shade as the bells carried across the quad.
After each concert, attendees can climb the tower's narrow staircase 67 feet up to the playing cabin. A window in the chamber offers a clear view of all 49 bells. The Oakland Post described the instrument as resembling "a church organ, a harp and a cotton gin all at once."
According to OU's Elliott Tower page, the tower is the last carillon to have its bells and keyboard cast by the Petit and Fritsen Royal Bellfoundry in the Netherlands, a foundry that operated from 1660 until it closed in 2014. The tower was donated by longtime OU supporters Hugh and Nancy Elliott and dedicated in September 2014. It is the 14th carillon tower in Michigan and the fourth at a Michigan university.
Curry is working to establish a carillon education program through OU's Department of Music, with a practice carillon available in O'Dowd Hall for students learning the instrument.
Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and a picnic. The tower plaza includes a water feature with programmable jets that send water 60 feet into the air.
Upcoming concerts
- Friday, July 24 — Ellen Dickinson
- Friday, July 31 — Margaret Pan
- Friday, August 7 — David Hunsberger
- Friday, August 14 — Dennis Curry
All concerts begin at 6 p.m. at Elliott Tower on the Oakland University campus in Rochester Hills. Admission is free. No tickets or registration required.
