Alex Johnson is the university carillonist at the University of Chicago. There he teaches a studio of 20 students and regularly plays the 72-bell, 100-ton Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon at Rockefeller Chapel. Alex regularly performs across the world and gives master classes across the country, and he is an avid composer and supporter of new music. Previously, Johnson taught carillon at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also taught high school math. Johnson studied carillon at the Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn” in Belgium, at Bok Tower Gardens in Florida, and at the University of Rochester, where he earned a degree in physics. In 2019, he won first prize at the most prestigious International Queen Fabiola Carillon Competition. On the side, Johnson is fond of his mbira and experiments frequently with improvisation on piano and melodica.

Originally from Seattle, Kayla Gunderson first learned to play the carillon at the University of Rochester, where she eventually taught several students to play as well. In 2022, Gunderson spent four months in Stockholm, Sweden, where she regularly played the carillon in Gamla Stan, the city’s oldest neighborhood. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in American Sign Language and brain & cognitive sciences in 2023. After graduating, she studied at the Royal Carillon School ‘Jef Denyn’ in Mechelen, Belgium. Now she is based in Hyde Park, where she is continuing her education to obtain a license in American Sign Language/English interpretation. Gunderson is a member of the Professionalism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and the Nominating Committee of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. In her free time, she enjoys knitting, going on walks, and spending time at Lake Michigan.