John Courter, of Berea, is a carillionneur.
No, that’s not somebody who has more money than Donald Trump.
It’s a musician who plays the carillon (pronounced care-ill-on), a relatively little-known instrument (at least in the United States) that plays melodic bells and is so large that even “traveling” versions have to be shipped from place to place by tractor-trailers.
Most carillons, like the one on the Berea College campus that John calls home base, are housed in towers. The one at Berea College is located in the Draper Tower. It is a 56-bell instrument that weighs 11 tons, and is the largest instrument of its kind in Kentucky.
John’s love of the instrument began when he was in high school in his native Lansing, Mich. He would go to carillon concerts at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
“It fascinated me from the beginning,” John said of the instrument. “You get a passion for the sound of the bells.” It was only natural that when he became a music student at Michigan State he’d want to learn to play the gigantic instrument that held such an attraction for him. He sought out his mentor, Wendell Westcott, carillionneur at the university, and asked to take a course in playing the instrument.
There was no such course at the time, but John persisted. Thus was born Carillon 323, and John was the first student on campus to sign up to take it.
The carillon is an unusual instrument to play. It consists of an organ-like keyboard with large wooden “keys” that are called batons, and foot pedals. The batons and pedals are attached to wires that, in turn, are attached to bells mounted on a steel frame above. The musician mostly strikes the batons with a closed fist and uses his or her feet to manipulate the pedals to make music. The tone produced is dependent on the thickness of the metal bells.
John said much of the music played on the bells is written by the carillionneur himself, and he has written many such compositions.
The carillon was developed in the Netherlands back in the 1500s, and refined a century later, John said. It began in a time when bells were used as a form of communication — to tell time, to memorialize the dead and to alert people of occurrences such as fires. Villages began adding different numbers of bells to their towers and eventually someone figured out a way to use the bells to make music. Thus was born the carillon.
John said there are about 185 carillons in the United States, and about 200 in the Netherlands, which is about the size of Ohio.
After John earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music and taught some high school and college courses in music, he came to Berea College in 1971 to teach music. Now retired from classroom teaching, John is still Berea College’s carillionneur and organist. He also writes many original musical compositions, both for the organ and the carillon.
Berea College didn’t get its carillon until 2000, when the Draper Building tower was completed, although it bought and stored the bells for it back in 1992.
While John said the organ is his “primary instrument of interest,” he has played both carillons and organs all over the world. He is a fellow of The American Guild of Organists, the highest achievement in the organ profession in the United States. He also holds an advanced degree from the Netherlands Carillon School, which, he said, is “sort of a doctoral degree in carillon.”
John is also a member of the World Carillon Federation, a group that meets at a convention once every three years at different locales around the world. Recent conventions that John has attended have been in Gdansk, Poland and Cobh, Ireland. The next one will be in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where there is a 77-bell carillon, in 2011.
John will be playing the carillon at Berea College on Aug. 3 as part of its Summer Carillon Concert Series.
If you’re fortunate enough to be on the Berea College campus between 5 and 5:30 p.m. on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday during the school year, you will hear the sweet sounds on the carillon.
That’s John Courter pursuing his passion for the bells.
Lifestyles & Community
Related Photos
John Courter: A passion for the bells
- Lifestyles & Community
-
-
Is MSG (monosodium glutamate) harmful?
Monsodium gluatamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer often added to Chinese food, soups, processed meats and canned vegetables. The use of MSG remains controversial despite a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) statement that it is safe. Because of this, the FDA requires that whenever MSG is added, that it be listed on the label.
-
Common-sense job hunting
I spent a day with a high-powered and high-profile friend who mentioned that he has more than 700 people a year ask him to help get a new job.
He’s not in the employment business, but is super well connected.
Every now and then, he gets the right person to the right job. -
It’s a love thing
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” — Romans 8:35-39
-
Managing the calving season
Providing sound management during the calving season can mean more live calves.
Excessive losses can mean the difference between a year’s profit or loss for a beef producer.
It is important to have a short calving period to allow frequent observation and assistance if needed. -
Spinach: It’s not just for Popeye anymore
A spinach-loving reader recently approached me to request a column on things to do with her favorite vegetable.
“Favorite vegetable?” You may ask, and rightly so.
When many of us were growing up …and we’re talking Baby Boomers here, the only spinach product known to us was the stuff that came in a can, and it was, in a word, horrible! -
Topping trees is a bad practice
Topping damages hundreds of trees each year in Kentucky.
Many people are unaware of the detrimental effects of this practice.
Topping involves the drastic removal or cutting back of large branches in mature trees leaving stubs.
Topping can make a tree hazardous and reduce its life. -
Tips offered for better credit
Many people are aware that their credit score is important, but do not really understand what it is or how to build a strong credit score.
-
Josh Logan to perform in Kirksville
Hello everyone. Josh Logan will perform at Kirksville Community Center on Saturday from 6:30 to 11 p.m. and will entertain you with some great music.
-
Church group to discuss ‘Bad Women of the Bible’
Tates Creek Baptist Church is having a special Coffee Talk Bible Study to discuss “The Bad Women of the Bible” on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 11 a.m. in the church, located on Boonesborough Road.
-
Preschool screenings and birthday surprises
Hi!
... and the wind blew and blew. Perhaps this is the windy season!
Where is the snow? Students are starting to do snow dances, hoping they can coax enough snow to fall so they can make a proper snowman.
(I'm sure they hope it will fall on a weekend so they won’t have to miss school! lol) - More Lifestyles & Community Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
