(gift of George G. Allen and
     William R. Perkins, Duke Endowment)

*Location:

   Chapel
   West Campus
   Duke University
   Duke University at Chapel Drive
   Durham, North Carolina, USA
   LL: N 36.00172, W 78.93969

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Joseph Fala, Chapel Carillonneur
     and staff specialist for Chapel music
   Box 90883
   Durham, NC  27708
   T: 919-684-3855
   E: joseph.fala@duke.edu
   - and -
   W. Paul Bumbalough
   - and -
   Thomas Gurin   (C)

   5Je1932 ded. Anton Brees  (d.)
   1932-33 Lawrence Apgar
   1932-56 Anton Brees (part time)
   19??-64 (various students)
   1965-2018 J. Samuel Hammond   (C)

*Contact:

   Luke Powery, Dean of the Chapel
   Duke University
   Durham, NC  27708-0974
   T: 919-684-2572
   E: luke.powery@duke.edu
      dukechapel@duke.edu

*Schedule:

   Mon-Fri 5:00-5:15 p.m.; Sunday before
   and after 11a.m. Chapel service

*Remarks:

   Rehung with new frame, transmission,
   clappers & keyboard by Taylor, 1992.
   The University and its chapel have
   Methodist roots in their history, but
   the chapel is interdenominational.
   The name "Allen & Perkins Carillon",
   formerly given here, was never formally
   attached to the instrument.
   Practice keyboard in same room with
   playing keyboard.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 50 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is G  in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     A#C   /    A#C 26
   Transposition is down 3 semitone(s), i.e., from C to A 
   There is one missing bass semitone
   There is a practice console
   The present keyboard was installed in 1992
     by Taylor       
   Prior history:
     In 1932, the complete instrument of 50 bells was installed
       with bells made by Taylor      
   Auxiliary mechanisms: IE    
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 1996

The home page of the Chapel Website has several photos of the building and tower (some of them in alternating series).  The virtual tour (on the Building sub-menu) requires QuickTime; the photos are panoramic (both horizontally and vertically!) and crisply detailed but not large (even though the photo files are very large). 

News article announcing retirement of Sam Hammond from Duke at end of December 2018.

News article 3De'18: Duke University trustees passed a resolution to name the Chapel's carillon after J. Samuel Hammond, who retires at the end of December.

Publicity article about the carillon; although the Webpage is cluttered with irrelevancies, there is an excellent large photo of the carillon from a viewpoint high in the belfry.

News article (Apr.2020) on the carillon and its interim carillonneur; with a fine photo of the chapel tower.

History article; with historic photo of the delivery of the bells in 1932.

Where 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.

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

Index to all traditional carillons in NC.

Index to all tower bell instruments in NC.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2021/08/31
   and on technical data last updated on 1997/05/18