AMES - 1 : USA - IA

   Stanton Memorial Carillon

*Location:

   Campanile
   Iowa State University
   (originally Iowa Agricultural College)
   main quad, off Union Drive
   Ames, Iowa, USA
   LL: N 42.02548, W 93.64602
Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Tin-shi Tam   (C)
   ISU Department of Music
   057 Music Hall
   Ames, IA  50011-7164
   W: 515-294-2911   F: 515-294-6109
   E: TSTam@IAState.edu
*Past carillonists:
   1931-69 Ira Schroeder   (d.)
   1969-71 Bruce Eberle
   1971-73 Marilyn W. Anderson   (C)
   1973-91 Richard H. von Grabow   (C)
   1991-92 Marilyn W. Anderson   (C)
   1992-94 (tower closed for renovation)

*Contact:

   Stanton Memorial Carillon
     Foundation   (Su)
   Iowa State University Alumni Assn.
   420 Beach Avenue
   Ames, IA  50011-1430
   F: 515-294-9402
   - or -
   ISU Department of Music and Theatre
   Music Administrative Office
   149 Simon Estes Music Hall
   2427 Union Drive
   Ames, IA  50011
   T: 515-294-3831   F: 515-294-6409
   E: musicinfo@iastate.edu

*Schedule:

   Weekdays throughout the school year

*Remarks:

   New playing & practice keyboards by
   Verdin, 1994.  Prior keyboard [1956]
   had dropped bass G,A,B in manual and
   pedal.
   Cambridge (Westminster) quarters.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 50 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is A# in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     A#C   /    A#C 26
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   There is one missing bass semitone
   There is an identical practice console
   The present keyboard was installed in 1994
     by the maker cited in Remarks above
   Prior history:
     In 1967, the instrument was enlarged to 50 bells
       by Taylor      
       Keyboard range was:     A#C   /    A#A#24
     In 1956, the instrument was enlarged to 49 bells
       by Taylor      
       Keyboard range was:     A#B   /    A#A#24
     In 1929, the instrument was enlarged to 36 bells
       by Taylor      
       Keyboard range was:     C C   /    ----  
       Transposition was down 2 semitone(s), i.e., from C to A#
     In 1899, the instrument was begun with 10 bells
       by Taylor      
   Auxiliary mechanisms: Q4    
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2012
*Links:

Searching the ISU main Website yields hundred of citations for the campanile and carillon.  The best of these can more easily be found from the music department's campanile and carillon page.  Text, photos, history and links elsewhere will keep you reading for hours.  The original ten bells, installed as a chime, were the first modern tuned bells imported into North America.
The campus WebCam includes the campanile, and includes a photo from each of the past 24 hours

News article on the carillon and recent pop music, with 6 interesting photos

Another news article, with two videos

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the third phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by weight.
Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all North American concert class carillons by year of completion.

Other concert carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

Index to all traditional carillons in IA.

Index to all tower bell instruments in IA.

*Status:
   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2018/09/19
   and on technical data last updated on 1999/12/29
*Photos:

Click
Campanile
Photo credit: ISU archives

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

[TowerBells Home Page] [Site data top page] [Credits and Disclaimers] [Feedback]

Please send comments or questions about this page to csz_stl@swbell.net.