Is the Tower ever open to the Public?Members at the Donor level and above can view the Founder's Room on one of four
tours conducted each year.
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1. Founder’s Room2. Chao Research Center
(Archives)3. Maintenance Workshop
4. Anton Brees Carillon Library
5. Carillonneur’s Studio6. Keyboard Room7. Carillon (60 bells)
Architect: Milton B. Medary (Philadelphia)
Purpose: To house the carillon; serve as a centerpiece for the Gardens; the private use of the Bok family
Built: 1927-1929
Height: 205 feet (62.5 meters)
Weight: 5,500 tons (5,000 metric tons)
Structure: Steel frame with brick walls; outer facing of pink and gray Georgia marble and Florida coquina, a limestone of shell and coral fragments
Foundation: 118 reinforced concrete piles, 13-24 feet (4-7 meters) underground with a concrete cap of 2.5 feet (0.8 meter)
Sculpture: Lee Lawrie (New York City); herons at the top, eagles at the base of the bellchamber; all sculptures were carved on-site
Colorful Grilles near the top: Ceramic tiles designed by J.H. Dulles Allen (Philadelphia)
Brass Door and Wrought-iron Gates with Birds: Samuel Yellin (Philadelphia); depicts the Biblical story of Creation
Inscription under the Sundial: This Singing Tower with its adjacent Sanctuary was dedicated and presented to the American people by Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States, February 1, 1929.
Bellfounder: John Taylor Bellfounders, Ltd. (Loughborough, England)
Size: 60 bronze bells
Bell weight: Smallest bell at 16 lbs. Largest bell at 11+ tons (10+ metric tons) Total of 63+ tons (57+ metric tons)
Inside the Singing TowerTower
Carillon
863-676-1408 - Lake Wales, FL
www.boktowergardens.org
DAILY CARILLON MUSICMarch 11-13, 2019
Carillon Concerts at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.
Clock MusicAnnouncing the hour strike: Lake Wales Nocturne (excerpt) Johan Franco
9:00 Prelude Johann Sebastian Bach
9:30 Sarabande (for carillon) Benoit Franssen
10:00 Somber Pavane (for carillon) Ronald Barnes
10:30 Andante Joseph H. Fiocco
11:00 Spring Morning (for carillon) Geert D’hollander Sorrowing
11:30 Andante (for carillon) Ronald Barnes
12:00 Prelude VI (for carillon) Matthias vanden Gheyn
12:30 Chaconne * Auguste Durant
1:00 CONCERT
2:00 Dreaming (for carillon) Geert D’hollander
2:30 Andante (for carillon) Ioannes de Gruijtters
3:00 CONCERT
4:00 Waltz Edvard Grieg
4:30 Cortege (for carillon) John Courter
5:00 La Volta William Byrd
5:30 Solveig’s Song * Edvard Grieg
Adaptations for carillon of melodies or of music written for other instruments have been made by the recitalist, except for those arrangers identified by the following:
* Anton Brees
Monday at 1:00 p.m.Live performance by Alex Johnson
Music from Across EuropeJe Te Veux – Gnossienne No. 1 – Gnossienne No. 5
Entry of the Gladiators Julius Fučík (1872-1916)Ständchen, D 889 (Serenade) F. Schubert (1797-1828)“O mio babbino caro” Giac. Puccini (1858-1924)
Music of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) Mazurka, Op. 68, No. 3 Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2
Monday at 3:00 p.m.Live performance by Alex Johnson
Contemporary Carillon Repertoire and Spanish MusicChartres (for carillon) Roy Hamlin Johnson (b. 1929)Habenera (from Carmen) Georges Bizet (1838-1875)Maanacht (from The Cathedral, for carillon)
A. Meulemans (1884-1966)Verano Porteño (for instrumental ensemble)
Astor Piazzola(1921-1992)Reflexies (for carillon) Jacques Maassen(1947-2013) Leyenda (for piano) Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)
Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Live performance by Alex Johnson
Greetings from the Carillon RepertoireMotorhythmia Neil Thornock (b. 1977)Music For An Early Spring Morning
K. Cosaert (b. 1963)Elégie Vasily Kalinnikov (1866-1901)
Farewell from the Carillon RepertoireSuite No. 1 for Carillon John Courter (1942-2010) 1. Fantasia Octatonica 2. Sonorities 3. Toccata Festevole
Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. Live performance by Alex Johnson
Opening (Glassworks) Philip Glass (b. 1937)
Songs of WarYankee Doodle & Battle Hymn of the Republic American Chester William Billings (1746-1800) Metamorphosis One Philip Glass
Spirituals, Honoring Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.Poor Wayfaring Stranger Appalachian
arr. W. WestcottPrecious Lord Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993)Lift Every Voice and Sing J. R. Johnson (1873-1954)
Closing (Glassworks) Philip Glass
Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.Live performance by Alex Johnson
Three HymnsPrelude on: Joyful, Joyful L. H. Whipple (1920-2005)Slane Traditional Irish
arr. L. H. WhippleSimple Gifts Joseph Brackett (1797-1882)
arr. M. Myhre
A Waltz and a PreludeOn the San Antonio River Robert Byrnes (b. 1949)Preludio No. 5 Matthias van den Gheyn (1721-1785)
Three Folk SongsShenandoah Traditional AmericanScarborough Fair Traditional English
arr. W. Westcott Low Bridge, Everybody Down Th. S. Allen (1876-1919)
To Conclude The Second Waltz Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)Praeludium (Suite for Lute No. 2) J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.Live performance by Alex Johnson
Baroque SelectionPreludio No. 3 Matthias vanden Gheyn (1721-1785)
Romantic SelectionNotule No. 1 & Image No. 2 E. Allard (1915-1976)
Contemporary SelectionMotorhythmia Niel Thornock (b. 1977)Elegy Roy Hamlin Johnson (b. 1929)Music for an Early Spring Morning K. Cosaert (b. 1963)
Alex Johnson grew up in a suburb
of Dallas, Texas where he began his musical training with piano at the age
of eight. Orchestral and marching percussion became his interest by age 10 and he flourished in his high school band and percussion program. He describes his percussion training– the kinesthetic awareness of how changes in muscle tension affect the sound produced – as important when he began to study the carillon as an undergraduate.
“I didn’t know what the word carillon was before beginning school at the University of Rochester, but I almost instantly became attached to the instrument,” he shared.
Geert D’hollander was named Bok Tower Gardens’ fourth fulltime carillonneur in October 2012 and is one of the finest in the world. He has studied piano, chamber music, choral and orchestral direction, fugue, and composition at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, Belgium, and carillon at the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen, Belgium.
He has taken first prize in more than 30 international competitions for carillon or composition. In 1997, Geert succeeded Ronald Barnes as University Carillonist and Professor of Carillon at the Department of Music at UC Berkeley. In 2008, he was awarded the “Berkeley Medal” for “Distinguished Service to the Carillon.”
Alex JohnsonSinging Tower Carillon Fellow
Geert D’hollanderResident Carillonneur