St. Paul's Carillon Festival brings unique musical experience to Cleveland Heights

St. Paul’s upcoming Carillon Festival, to be held on Sundays in June at 6 p.m., is a great way to gather with friends while experiencing the beauty of the church and enjoying a unique musical performance.

Yet you may wonder, what is a carillon, exactly? Hidden within St. Paul’s lofty bell tower, most people never get to see this special instrument up close. During a recent tour with St. Paul’s music director Kevin Jones, he explained how the instrument works and its history.

A carillon is a set of fixed chromatically tuned bells sounded by hammers controlled from a keyboard. The carillonneur plays a keyboard much like an organ, the keys move wires that are connected to hammers, and the hammers ring bells. This divine-sounding music happens high in the perches of the belltower, several hundred feet above the listeners’ ears. Yet what might seem like magic is the artful playing of the carillonneur.

The carillon at St. Paul’s was installed in 1929 in the 165-foot tower thanks to a gift from Laura Price Briggs. It was intended for 23 bells, but when the Great Depression came along, only eight bells were installed. Then, in 1953, St. Paul’s carillon was expanded to 25 bells. Finally, in 2023, it was enlarged to a standard concert carillon size of 47 bells.

“We have this great instrument, thanks to patrimony and also Bill and Laurie Buss who gave the money for the expansion,” said Jones.

Jones came up with the idea for the Carillon Festival to showcase this unique instrument and spread the church’s ministry and music program into the community. “I just think it’s a great resource that makes St. Paul’s unique and we should share it with the world,” he said.

Featured performers at the 2024 Carillon Festival are David Osburn (June 9 and June 30), Keiran Cantilina (June 16), and Dennis Curry (June 23). The concert series includes songs by Gilbert and Sullivan and Queen as well as traditional hymns and American anthems.

Some fascinating facts about the St. Paul’s carillon: it requires special training to play, the bells were created by three separate companies, and it can be used to play almost anything. “It’s very much laid out like an organ, but playing the carillon requires a technique all of its own,” said Jones, adding that most carillonneurs get advanced degrees in Europe, although there is now also an advanced degree available at the University of Michigan.

For more information about the 2024 Summer Carillon Festival, and to download the program, please visit the St. Paul’s blog: Summer Carillon Festival | St. Paul's Cleveland Heights (stpauls-church.org).