ROCHESTER : USA - MN

   The Rochester Carillon

*Location:

   Plummer Building
   Mayo Clinic
   2d Street & 2d Avenue SW
   Rochester, Minnesota, USA
   LL: N 44.02179, W 92.46560
Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Austin Ferguson,   (A)
     Mayo Clinic Carillonneur
   957 Pendant Lane NW #211
   Rochester, MN  55901
   H: 903-238-1117
   E: ferguson.austin@mayo.edu
      carillon@mayo.edu
*Past carillonists:
   1928-57   Jimmy Drummond  (1889-1966)
   1958-2004 Dean Robinson  (1925-2004)(C)
   2004-2016 Jeffrey L Daehn   (A)

*Contact:

   The Mayo Foundation
   200 1st Street SW
   Rochester, MN  55905-0001
   T: 507-284-5266
   E: humanitiesrochester@mayo.edu

*Schedule:

   1900 Monday, 1200 Wed & Fri;
   1645 daily; summer series (guests).
   Quarter chimes on first 10 days of the
   month by Jeff Daehn based on tune
   by James Drummond; remainder of month
   is Cambridge (Westminster) quarters.

*Remarks:

   Major restoration during summer 2006
   by Het Molenpad Expertise (S.Ball,
   G.Bodden et al) included re-tuning;
   topmost G&J bell, found to be cracked,
   was replaced by Taylor, with the
   old bell going into the Mayo Clinic
   Museum (along with the 1927 playing and
   practice keyboards).
   2023: Sunderlin making new WCF standard
   console, and restoring G&J electro-
   pneumatic chiming machine; will rehang
   P&F trebles and rework transmission.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 56 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is A# in the bass octave
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   Keyboard range:     A#G   /    A#C 25
   There are two missing bass semitones
   There is an identical practice console
   1 bell was replaced in 2006
     by Taylor      
   Prior history:
     In 2006, the bells were retuned
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
     In 1977, the instrument was enlarged to 56 bells
       by Petit & Fritsen
       (33 bells remain from that work.)
     In 1928, the instrument was begun with 23 bells
       by Gillett & Johnston
       (22 bells remain from that work.)
       Transposition was down 2 semitone(s)
       Keyboard range was:     C C   /    C C   
   Auxiliary mechanisms: Q     
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2006
*Links:

News video (2:48) on completion of the Mayo restoration, 22 Feb '19

Four photos and a short video (0:23) from first concert after renovation

Article on restoration work underway on the carillon; with several historic photos and video clips from the original installation.

Video and transcript of renovation work

News article (Jul'18) about the last concert before major renovation work begins.

A clinic Website has an article on The Plummer Carillon, with two photos and a movie clip.  One of the photos shows clearly the dual clappers and secondary transmission on the original bells, for an automatic player mechanism.
Another clinic Website has a history page about the carillon.

News article on the new quarter tune, "Mayo Clinic Chimes"

A large photo of the top of the tower was taken from a nearby building.

A peace carillon page has photos and additional information.

Article on the carillon, with two videos.

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Gillett & Johnston bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Petit & Fritsen 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 MN.

Index to all peace carillons worldwide.

Index to all tower bell instruments in MN.

*Status:
   This page was built from the database on  4-Nov-23
   based on textual data last updated on 2023/04/02
   and on technical data last updated on 2006/10/07
*Photos:

(none available)

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

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