Carillon Concerts
Mondays, June 4 through September 3, 7 p.m.; preconcert carillon tours and demonstrations 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. (every 15 minutes)
Enjoy an enchanting 45-minute musical performance of carillon bells on a warm summer evening and watch lights illuminate Evening Island.
Through a regularly scheduled series of concerts each summer, carillonneurs from around the world delight Garden visitors with the captivating music of the 48-bell Theodore C. Butz Memorial Carillon. Meet the performers and enjoy a free carillon tour and demonstration before the concert — you can even try your hand at ringing the bells.
Visitors can purchase snacks and a bottle of wine from the Garden Café, or grilled selections from the Garden Grille including burgers, hot dogs and barbeque. You may also bring a picnic dinner to enjoy on the lawn by McGinley Pavilion.
Since 1986, the carillon has remained both a noted landmark and a source of remarkable music at the Garden. Crafted in Holland, the tower's bronze bells and playing device with a range of four octaves constitutes one of the few hand-played carillons in the nation.
Carillon Schedule
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Mon 4 Jun |
Christine Power is an assistant carillonneur and regular performer at Naperville’s Millennium Carillon. Her music may also be heard weekly in the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. She became certified as a carillonneur at the 2005 Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs. |
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Mon 11 Jun |
Wylie Crawford is the resident carillonneur for the Chicago Botanic Garden, and the university carillonneur at the University of Chicago. He was the first city carillonneur for the Millennium Carillon in Naperville, and is currently the president of the World Carillon Federation. Mr. Crawford fulfilled the requirements of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America to become a certified Carillonneur in 1977. |
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Mon 18 Jun |
Toni Raats attended the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen, Belgium. Since graduating, he gives annual concerts in the Netherlands and Belgium, and is a freelance carillon player in Halsteren. In July 2011, he became the city carillonneur in Roosendaal, playing every week during market time. |
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Mon 25 Jun |
Tim Sleep, city carillonneur of Naperville, performs regularly on the city’s Millennium Carillon and in the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the University of Chicago. He also performs guest carillon recitals throughout the country. He currently serves as a board member and corresponding secretary for the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, as well as secretary of the Millennium Carillon Foundation in Naperville. He became a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in 2004. |
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Mon 2 Jul |
Joey Brink played and toured regularly with the Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs and served as a student co-chair. He is a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America after passing his advancement recital in 2011. As both an engineer and a musician, he is interested in carillon keyboard design. |
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Mon 9 Jul |
Stephan Burton took carillon lessons at Brigham Young University. He joined the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America upon successfully completing his exam in 2011. He also enjoys playing jazz piano. |
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Mon 16 Jul |
Anna Kasprzycka studied carillon in Gdańsk, Poland and in Leuven and Mechelen. She has also taken part in several carillon courses in Gdańsk, Leuven, Amersfoort, and Middelburg. She has performed in Poland, Belgium, Holland, Great Britain, France, and the United States. Currently, she works in the recording studio at the Gdańsk Academy of Music and organizes cultural events. |
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Mon 23 Jul |
Robert Grogan was honored by Pope Benedict XVI with knighthood in the papal order of St. Gregory the Great. His music for carillon, organ, and choir has been published by the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, H. W. Gray (Belwin/Mills), and E. C. Schirmer. A member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America since 1964, he has played carillon recitals across the U.S., in Canada, the Netherlands, and France. He is a recipient of the Berkeley Medal from the University of California at Berkeley for distinguished service to the carillon. He currently plays and teaches carillon and organ in Washington, D.C. |
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Mon 30 Jul |
Gordon Slater has played piano, organ, and carillon since childhood. He has conducted orchestras, choirs, bands, and musicals in Toronto and Ottawa. He is retired from the position of dominion carillonneur of Canada. He tours widely as a carillonneur and clinician, has been Music Director of the Divertimento Orchestra since 1987, and plays bassoon and contrabassoon with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Slater was awarded the Berkeley Medal from the University of California at Berkeley for distinguished service to the carillon. |
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Mon 6 Aug |
Chelsea Vaught passed the Guild of Carillonneurs exam and became a member in 2011. She recently earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, where she played recitals on the 53-bell Taylor carillon housed in the World War II Memorial Campanile. |
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Mon 13 Aug |
Sue Bergren is an assistant carillonneur at the Millennium Carillon in Naperville. She became a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America in 2004. She was recently elected to the organization’s Board of Directors. She is music editor and owner of American Carillon Music Editions. An active carillon recitalist, she plays regularly on the Naperville Millennium Carillon, and gives weekly recitals on the Rockefeller Memorial Carillon. |
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Mon 20 Aug |
Jim Fackenthal is the assistant carillonneur at the University of Chicago. He has played numerous carillon recitals throughout North America and at international festivals. He has served on several committees of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America including the Board of Directors and the examination jury. |
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Mon 27 Aug |
Kimberly Schafer performs regularly on the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon at the University of Chicago, where she also works as an administrator and teaches carillon lessons. She previously spearheaded a carillon instruction program at the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated with a Ph.D. in musicology. She has performed carillon concerts in the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. She last played a carillon concert at the Chicago Botanic Garden in 2006. |
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Mon 3 Sep |
James M. Brown is an assistant city carillonneur in Naperville. He also plays regularly at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. He earned certification as a Carillonneur Member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America at the Guild’s 2003 Congress. |
Wylie Crawford, Chicago, IL
Toni Raats, Roosendaal, The Netherlands
Tim Sleep, Naperville, Illinois
Joey Brink, Madison, Connecticut
Stephan Burton, Provo, Utah
Anna Kasprzycka, Gdánsk, Poland
Robert Grogan, Washington, D.C.
Gordon Slater, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Chelsea Vaught, Lawrence, Kansas
Sue Bergren, Naperville, Illinois
Jim Fackenthal, Chicago, Illinois
Kimberly Schafer, Chicago, Illinois
James M. Brown, Naperville, Illinois