Arthur R. Metz Memorial Carillon

*Location:

   Indiana University
   East 10th Street at North Fee Lane
   Bloomington, Indiana, USA
   LL: N 39.17068, W 86.51960

Site locator map (current location)

   1640 East 17th Street,
     opposite North Jordan Avenue
   LL: N 39.17735, W 86.51062

Site locator map (original location)

*Carillonist:

   Wade FitzGerald,   (C)
     Associate Carillon Instructor
   T: 813-455-9049
   E: w_fitzgerald12@yahoo.com

   1971-72 Arie Abbenes
   1973-75 (unknown)
   1976-83 Linda Walker (Pointer)   (C)
   1984-86 (none)
   1987-96 Brian T. Swager   (C)
   1996-2020 (none)
   2020-22 Lynnli Wang   (C)

*Contact:

   Prof.Janette S. Fishell
   Chair, Organ Department
   Jacobs School of Music, JS222
   E: jfishell@indiana.edu
   - or -
   Office of the Dean
   School of Music
   Indiana University
   Bloomington, IN  47405-2200
   T: 812-855-1583
   E: musicadm@indiana.edu

*Schedule:

   Saturdays 1200-1245

*Remarks:

   In 1996, Meeks & Watson built a new
   console, which Verdin installed.
   Practice console, identical to the
   original, remains in School of Music.
   For -3, see under Chimes.
   Sep.2017: last concert in old tower,
   by John Gouwens
   Mar.2018: Tower demolished; dedication
   of new tower planned for 2019
   Jan.2019: New tower under construction
   Jan.2020: New installation played for
   first time on MLK day
   Jun.2020: New practice console dupli-
   cates new playing console.
   Autoplay on 2 octaves via Clock-O-Matic
   Apollo III system.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 65 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is G  in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     G C   /    G C 29
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   There is one missing bass semitone
   There is an identical practice console
   The instrument was enlarged in 2019
     with bells made by Eijsbouts    
   Prior history:
     In 1996, the keyboard was replaced
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
       Pitch of heaviest bell was A# in the bass octave
       Keyboard range was:     C C 60/    A#C 25
       There were two missing bass semitones
     In 1971, the instrument was begun with 61 bells
       by Eijsbouts   
   Auxiliary mechanisms: E24   
   Tower details: 
     Height of console:                 16 meters above ground
     Height of lowest level of bells:   20 meters above ground
     Height of highest level of bells:  27 meters above ground
     Belfry openness:    %
   Year of latest technical information source is 2022

As of 15 Jan 2020, the IU home page has a photo of the upper part of the new carillon tower.  The campus map does not list the Student Building by this name or address, though it is labelled as such on the map, where a popup identifies it as the Frances Morgan Swain Student Building.  Clicking that popup brings in a sliding pane that pictures the building, calls it the Student Building (Frances Morgan Swain) and confirms its address as 701 E. Kirkwood.
High-resolution photo of the new, from an article about using the carillon to make public announcement of events related to the IU football team's home games.

A news article about an architectural award for the Metz carillon tower has six interesting photos of it.

The IU carillon blog has news, photos, etc., and includes photos of removal of the music school practice carillon on 1 Apr 2020; to be returned in the fall.

An IU Heritage article relates the history of the Metz Carillon and its redevelopment into the present instrument; with a gallery of photos of the old and new towers.

News article (Oct '20) about this carillon, with photo of the tower.

An architectural article (9 Oct 2020) discusses the architecture of the tower and has a gallery of 14 photos, including both exterior and interior perspectives.

News article (Jan'20) on playing of the carillon on MLK day; with photos of the tower and the treble bells.
A linked article about the carillon has a large photo of the upper part of the tower as a background.

News/opinion article (Jan'20) on the reinstalled Metz Carillon, which will be played at 11:45 am EST on Jan.20 in celebration of IU's bicentennial; but the sole photo seems to be a file photo of the bells in their previous location.

A construction camera for the new bell tower gives a live view, as well as access to three different time-lapse series.

News article (27Jl'19, text only): Steel is going up for the new bell tower.  Old bells refurbished & 4 new ones cast in NL; returning by ship.

News article (29Jl'19) on the start of steel construction, with an architectural rendering of the completed tower and a photo of the construction site.  Construction expected to be complete by December.

The IU/Bloomington Website has an excellent campus map; it would be superb if it were linked to building photos and descriptions.  Use the Search facility with "Metz carillon" to find a variety of information and some photos.

News article about the plan to relocate and expand the carillon
A similar article

Final concert, by John Gouwens, on the Metz Carillon before being dismantled in Oct.2017

News article (May'18) on construction at Indiana U reports the schedule for relocation & expansion of the Metz carillon.

Video slide show of the Metz Carillon with audio from an interview with, and a recital by, John Gouwens

2004 news article about John Gouwens playing a guest recital here, with keyboard photo

The Metz Tower in late evening.  You can send an e-postcard with this photo (or others).

Access to a high-resolution photo of the Metz Tower (somewhat tilted!)

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

The bass bell of this carillon is among all great bells in North America.

Other concert carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

Index to all traditional carillons in IN, including the practice carillon on this campus.

Index to all tower bell instruments in IN, including that practice carillon and a chime which are also on this campus.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2022/09/04
   and on technical data last updated on 2022/06/23