For 75 years, Yale students have played the bells of Harkness

Twice a day while Yale College is in session, the bells in Harkness Tower ring out across campus, a sonorous echo above the gothic rooftops and shady college courtyards. For generations, the bells have produced shimmering renditions of Bach and Shostakovich and, more recently, arrangements of the Beatles, Taylor Swift, or Beyonce. 

Behind the idiosyncratic repertoire are the Yale Memorial Carillon’s dedicated players: the student members of the Yale Guild of Carillonneurs, a recognized organization that includes both current students and alumni. And the guild’s influence extends beyond campus: it has become a leader in contemporary carillon composition and performance, under the guidance of carillon advisor and coordinator Ellen Dickinson ’97, ’99 M.M. (The bells and Harkness Tower itself fall under the aegis of the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life.) 

“As a carillon group that is student-run, we’re pretty unique,” said Eric Wang, a Yale College senior and co-chair of the guild. “I’m always awed by the fact that this tradition has been happening for so long and that, although I’m only here for four years, I get to contribute to this and make sure that playing on the bells continues after me.”

Each fall, the guild offers a five-week training and audition process — known as “Heel” — to prospective carillonneurs; each year, about 25 students try out. Currently, 21 full-time members take turns performing at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m. every day. 

Students have been responsible for sounding the bells since 1949, when Harkness Tower, part of Branford College, housed a 10-bell chime; the group was originally known as the Guild of Yale University Bellringers. (Carillons must have at least 23 bells.) 

Sixty years ago, philanthropist Florence S. Marcy Crofut donated an additional 44 bells, giving the tower a four-and-a-half octave carillon. All of Yale’s bronze bells were cast by the John Taylor Bellfoundry of Loughborough, England and are embossed with the words, “For God, For Country, and For Yale”; the newer bells were installed in 1966. 

The largest bell, a low G that sounds like an F-sharp, weighs 13,400 pounds; the smallest, tuned to C, weighs 26. The bells’ minor third overtones, which might make them sound out of tune to some musicians, contribute to their unique sound.

Inside Harkness, a stone spiral staircase takes visitors from the ground floor (home to the Buddhist Shrine Room) to the guild’s office, which also houses the original console for the 10-bell chime.

Metal file cabinets hold sheaves of alphabetized sheet music; over time, the repertoire has expanded and diversified, said Peter Zhang, the guild’s co-chair and Yale College senior. Dickinson has helped the guild take a leading role in promoting and expanding new carillon music, with Yale commissioning dozens of original works in the last decade alone. 

“The body of original carillon composition is huge, and Yale has been a major contributor to that,” said Dickinson. “It’s really made huge ripple effects in the broader carillon world.”

For the carillon’s 50th anniversary, the guild commissioned 50 new works — “the largest new music project in the history of the carillon art,” said Dickinson — including five pieces of new music from the popular contemporary composer Joey Brink ’11, who began his carillon studies as a member of the guild.

Last year, the guild performed a concert of music by composer Connor Chee, a member of the Navajo nation, in celebration of the Native American Cultural Center’s 10th anniversary. The program included a piece commissioned by Yale, “Into the Glittering World,” which was premiered by guild member Zoe Pian ’25.

From the office, a narrow metal spiral staircase leads two floors up to the playing cabin, a snug corrugated metal shed that houses the carillon console. The space is about halfway up Harkness Tower — just below the tower’s clock face. The bells themselves are installed in rows above the cabin, from largest at the bottom to the smallest at the top.

The carillon console resembles that of an organ, but with wooden batons depressed by a fist or palm of the hand in place of keys, along with a set of foot pedals. The bells themselves never move; instead, depressing a baton pulls a wire connected to the bell’s clapper, which then taps against the curved inner rim of the bell (called the “sound bow”). The clappers move mere inches to produce a sound that can travel about three-quarters of a mile. 

(According to one — perhaps apocryphal — origin story, the bells were first installed with the clappers positioned in their center. When rung, they produced a deafening clang that was audible up to four miles away — and shattered windows in Branford College below.)

Before the players begin, they adjust the length of the wires by moving a turnbuckle — as the temperature changes, the metal wires can expand or contract, affecting how the clapper strikes the bell. 

Playing the carillon for the first time can be “intimidating,” said Wang. “You really feel how big it is. And it’s easy to get lost in that and have the instrument control you in a sense. It definitely takes a lot of time to figure out, but the best way to establish a connection with the instrument is just by playing it.”

Dickinson, herself a noted carillon player, is the guild’s teacher, in addition to advising the group on repertoire. Under her instruction, the students learn to play with precision and artistry. (In one measure of her skill as a mentor — and Yale’s outsized presence in the world of carillon music — thirty of her students have passed the professional certification exam offered by the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.) Two practice consoles in the tower allow the carillonneurs to perfect their pieces before taking them to the bells.

“We like to say it’s a very public instrument, but it’s also very private because nobody knows it’s you that’s up there,” said Zhang.

“The more you play, the less you are conscious of the fact that everyone can hear you,” said Wang. “So it becomes more of a personal thing, especially if you’re performing a piece that you’ve practiced a lot and are really familiar with. Then, for me at least, you zone in and it’s just you and the instrument and you don’t really think about what else is happening.” 

For those below, the carillon offers both a sense of place and time — literally, as the guild players often incorporate the Westminster Quarters, a melody that marks each quarter hour, into their daily sessions. “I love the sound of the carillon, because of what that sound represents in terms of history, of communication, of keeping time,” said Enrique De La Cruz, the Head of Branford College. “It’s a very practical way of communicating, but it’s also incredibly beautiful.”

In addition to their twice-daily performance, guild members perform pieces for special occasions such as Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and the holidays. For several years, they’ve performed an annual memorial concert on Sept. 11th. 

They also take requests — for birthdays, first dates, or any special occasion. When the Yale Peabody Museum reopened last March, the bells rang out the theme to “Jurassic Park.” 

The bells gave De La Cruz, who is also the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, a chance to host one Branford guest with a bit of flair. 

“We had Howard Shore, who composed, orchestrated, conducted, and produced the score for ‘Lord of the Rings,’ here for a Branford Head of College Tea,” De La Cruz said. “We timed it so that the student carillonneur was playing one of Shore’s compositions as Howard was walking across the Branford courtyard to our common room. It was really a highlight in the way it demonstrated the nimbleness and talent of these young musicians.”

A summer concert series invites community members to picnic in the Branford courtyard while enjoying selections from a featured performer — last summer, the players included Dickinson, several guild members and alumni, and visiting carillonneurs from Michigan and the Netherlands. 

Zhang helped organize the 2023 summer concert and performed on its final evening. His performance included a song from the video game “Final Fantasy X,” “Con Te Partiro,” by Francesco Sartori (popularized by Andrea Bocelli), and “Prélude Romantique” by Dutch carillonist Frank Steijns — one of Zhang’s favorite composers. “His music is very lyrical and does a lot of interesting things with the carillon,” Zhang said. “It brings out what’s unique about it — and also just sounds nice.”

Offering this program over the summer felt particularly rewarding, said Zhang. “When we came down after that last recital, we had people who have been coming for many years approach us and say, ‘Thank you so much for the summer,’” said Zhang. “It’s such an enjoyable way to spend each Friday, and it’s really cool to provide this for the community.” 

During the academic year, the carillonneurs occasionally get (good-humored) complaints. “Well, it turns out that 5:30 is a very common time for people to be napping,” said Zhang. “I like to say that it’s waking them up in time for dinner.”