Amazing Grace, written in 1779 by John Newton, arranged for carillon by Milford Myhre. Live recording by Prof. Tiffany Ng on the Charles Baird Carillon from the 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium at the University of Michigan.

Amazing Grace

Anthony Crawford was a prosperous farmer, skillful businessman, and civic leader. A proponent of education, he built a school on his property to ensure the teaching of black children in Abbeville, South Carolina. Despite being born a slave in 1865, he achieved success and initiated social progress amidst hardship. His horrific death on October 21, 1916 is unique in the history of lynchings, since he was never accused of any violent crime and was a prominent member of the community. Crawford was beaten and dragged through the streets, and hundreds watched as he was hung from a tree and shot repeatedly. His family was told to leave and black businesses were threatened. Afterward, African Americans left Abbeville in droves, scattering across the country. In time, Crawford’s descendants began to reconnect, and rallied together to successfully demand a formal apology from the Senate for failing to make lynching a crime. Lavinia Kell Parker composed "Crawford Road" in response to the controversy surrounding the Tillman carillon bells at Clemson University, named after Ben Tillman, a proponent of Jim Crow laws. Although sanctioned terror was used to defeat the social, economic, and political aspirations of the Black community, Anthony Crawford dared to make things better. Progress has been made, and there is still a long road ahead.

Performed by Tiffany Ng on the Charles Baird Carillon at the University of Michigan on January 19, 2016.

'Crawford Road' by Lavinia Kell Parker

At 6 pm on June 14, 2016, the University of Michigan tolled the bourdon bell of Burton Tower 49 times in memory of the victims of the Orlando shooting.

49 tolls for Orlando victims

The University of Michigan's 9/11/16 carillon recital marked the 15th anniversary of the tragedy. The recital began with the “Last Alarm,” a set of 3 solemn tolls of the lowest carillon bell, rung by special guest Larry L. Collins, Fire Chief of the City of Ann Arbor. The lives of firefighters have historically been closely associated with bells. As they began their hours of duty, a bell signaled them to start. Through day and night, each alarm was sounded by a bell, calling them to fight fire and to place their lives in jeopardy for the good of their fellow people. When the fire was out and the alarm had ceased, the bell rang three times to signal the end. On 9/11/16, Chief Collins rang the Last Alarm in memory of, and, in tribute to, the service of those who gave their lives to save the lives of others.

The Last Alarm was followed by John Courter's "In Memoriam - September 11, 2001," performed by University Carillonist Tiffany Ng. This work by one of the greatest American carillon composers was completed in the four days after 9/11 and published for free online by the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.

In Remembrance: Marking the Fifteenth Anniersary of 9/11

Last Alarm; In Memoriam - September 11, 2001

Robert Byrnes' "Reflection" (1999), performed by University Carillonist Tiffany Ng for UM's 9/11 memorial carillon recital in 2016.

In Remembrance: Marking the Fifteenth Anniversary of 9/11

Reflection

Alice Gomez's "Lament and Alleluia" (1999), performed by University Carillonist Tiffany Ng on the Charles Baird Carillon for "In Remembrance: Marking the Fifteenth Anniversary of 9/11" at the University of Michigan on 9/11/16.

Lament and Alleluia

Thomas A. Dorsey's gospel song "Precious Lord" performed by Tiffany Ng on the Charles Baird Carillon for "50 Years of Civil Rights Leadership: A U-M Symposium in honor of Rev. Jesse Jackson." Arrangement by John Courter.

50 Years of Civil Rights Leadership: A U-M Symposium in honor of Rev. Jesse Jackson

Precious Lord

The spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" performed by Tiffany Ng on the Charles Baird Carillon for "50 Years of Civil Rights Leadership: A U-M Symposium in honor of Rev. Jesse Jackson." Arrangement by Milford Myhre.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

C. Albert Findley's "I'll Overcome Some Day" (also know as "We Shall Overcome") performed by Tiffany Ng on the Charles Baird Carillon for "50 Years of Civil Rights Leadership: A U-M Symposium in honor of Rev. Jesse Jackson." Arrangement by Milford Myhre.

I'll Overcome Some Day

J. Rosamond Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing" performed by Tiffany Ng on the Charles Baird Carillon for "50 Years of Civil Rights Leadership: A U-M Symposium in honor of Rev. Jesse Jackson." Arrangement by John Courter.

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Jenny Olivia Johnson's "dec 24, nearly midnight in honolulu" was commissioned by the Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs for the 50th anniversary of the Yale Memorial Carillon and premiered by Yale alumna Tiffany Ng.

In Johnson's words, the piece "was inspired by the many Christmas Eves I have spent on the north shore of Kaua’i with my family. This is a rural beach area, often eerily quiet on holidays, and I have often wondered what it would be like to attend a midnight mass near the ocean—what the bells would sound like intermingled with the pounding surf and the wind in the palm fronds, and how the feeling of being in church in Hawai’i would compare with my early childhood memories of attending midnight masses in larger cities on the mainland.

There is another source of inspiration for this piece: the raw emotions and long resonances of Neko Case’s “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu,” a haunting track from her recent album "The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You."

Honolulu, a major city on O’ahu, is not very far from Kaua’i, and I have spent many nights there as well. This piece is a brief collage of all the feelings I have about Christmas Eve, Neko’s song, and the grandeur and pageantry of church bells from early childhood memories of religious ceremonies."

2016 Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America

dec 24, nearly midnight in honolulu

Richard Giszczak performs his arrangement of Louis Elbel's "The Victors" (1898) on the Charles Baird Carillon.

Carillons of the University of Michigan

Louis Elbel: The Victors (1898)

The U-M Bicentennial Fall Festival featured the 43-ton Charles Baird Carillon bells played by Prof. Tiffany Ng augmented by a “ghost bell.” The Russian Tsar Bell was the largest bell ever cast at over 200 tons. But it cracked before it was ever sounded, in 1732. A team of UM, Stanford, Berkeley, and Meyer Sound researchers made the Tsar Bell ring for the first time by designing a computational model and massive subwoofers.

As history tells, bells were shattered in their belfries for easy transport to military furnaces during times of war. If the bell withstands the concussion, it may rebound and spin on its mouth’s edge wobbling like an Euler’s Disk, a physics toy used to investigate this type of oscillation. Composer John Granzow's "Euler’s Bell" integrates the sound of such a bell wobbling and forestalling, if briefly, this perennial transfer of metals from music to munitions.

U-M Bicentennial Fall Festival

John Granzow's "Euler's Bell"

The Nepali folk dance "Shiva Ratri," arranged by Frances Newell and performed by Tiffany Ng on the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Carillon at the University of Michigan on the date of the 2020 Maha Shivaratri (Feb. 21, 2020).

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Carillon

Shiva Ratri

The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is home to two carillons and the world's oldest university carillon program. The Charles Baird Carillon comprises 53 bronze bells weighing 43 tons, and the Lurie Carillon contains 60 bells.

UM Carillons

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