Mercersburg Academy announces October carillon series
MERCERSBURG >> Carillon recitals continue on October Sundays from Mercersburg Academy's Swoope Carillon in the Irvine Memorial Chapel on campus. Performances begin at 3 p.m. and can be heard from the quad.
Academy carillonneur James Brinson will perform Oct. 11. Brinson has served on Mercersburg's music faculty since 2003 and took on the role of carillonneur in 2009. He is a graduate with distinction from both Union Theological Seminary's School of Sacred Music and Rhodes College. A member of the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Directors Association and an associate member of the GCNA, Brinson is experienced in choral arts, organ performance, and music history.
Jeff Daehn, the carillonneur at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota will perform Oct. 18. Daehn's home instrument, the Mayo Clinic's Plummer Carillon, has 56 bells and is one of the largest carillons in the United States.
On Oct. 25 Lynnli Wang, a junior literature major and educational studies scholar at Yale University, will present the recital. She began learning carillon through the Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs her freshman year by going through the guild's nine-week Heel (audition) process. During the summer after her freshman year, she was a summer carillonneur and hosted Yale's annual summer concert series, which featured national and international guests, along with alumni of the guild. As a sophomore, she was elected Heeler Monster and ran the audition process, while also acting as one of the guild's social chairs.
Wang now serves as co-chair of the guild and helps oversee the its daily activities. One notable event of past year includes Yale President Peter Salovey's inaugural ring and tours, which brought hundreds of people to see the inside of Harkness Tower and the Yale Memorial Carillon. As a student carillonneur, she gets to ring the bells weekly and bring music to all of campus.
Mercersburg's Swoope Carillon is one of 163 traditional carillons in the U.S. and includes 50 bells. Carillon recitals are offered on most Sunday afternoons during the academic year.