The Floyd and Juanita Smith Carillon Tower at Penn State Behrend has 48 bells, ranging in size from just over 6 inches to more than 3 feet. The tower offers free outdoor concerts each July.
EIRE, Pa. – A longstanding tradition is returning to Penn State Behrend this summer as the Floyd and Juanita Smith Carillon welcomes performers from around the world to play music for the entire campus to hear.
The carillon tower is one of just 166 in the United States. It includes 48 bells, ranging from a little over 6 inches wide to more than three feet, and offers a free concert each Thursday evening throughout July as part of the Smith Carillon Concert Series. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets to sit on the lawn around the Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel and enjoy the music.
“If you could imagine having like a dinner party and someone's playing the piano, well, it's just for the people in that room, in that party. But carillons are a community instrument,” said Chris Fox, the chapel’s facility manager. “Whether you're sitting directly below outside the lawn or you're maybe across the road somewhere on the other side of campus, you can still hear it and enjoy it.”
The concerts are at 7 p.m. every Thursday in July. This year, the final concert will take place Aug. 1. Visiting musicians perform everything from classical music to arrangements of modern pop songs. The performances are part of a tour curated through the Rochester Institute of Technology, which brings musicians to carillons across the country.
“We always want to showcase the campus to the community. It's an open campus so the community can come and experience many of the programs hosted here,” Fox said. “It's an opportunity to not only have that community interaction, but to showcase a really unique instrument.”
Fox has been involved in the concerts since he started managing the facility about 10 years ago. But the first summer concert series happened well before that, shortly after the bells were first installed in 2002. Now, they’re a tradition that can bring as many as 200 people to the grassy areas around the chapel on a nice day, Fox said.
Because of the instrument’s volume and size, accommodating that isn’t difficult. Visitors can also enjoy free food and drinks as they listen to the music.
“We get so many returning visitors who look forward to it every year. It's been really neat because I've gotten to know a lot of the people that come out year after year,” Fox said. “Listening to bells play may not be your cup of tea, but if you enjoy music, any type of music, it's such a unique thing to witness.”
