Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon

*Location:

   Riverside Church (interdenominational:
     ABC/UCC)
   Riverside Drive at 122nd Street
   Morningside Heights
   New York, New York, USA
   LL: N 40.81209, W 73.96319

Site locator map for present location

*Original location (1925-1929):

   Park Avenue Baptist Church
   (now Central Presbyterian Church)
   Park Avenue at 64th Street
   LL: N 40.76580, W 73.96738

Site locator map for original location

*Carillonist:

   Charles Semowich
   W: 212-870-6875
   E: CSemowich@trcnyc.org
   - and -
   Carla Staffaroni, Asst.C.   (A)
   E: carla.staffaroni@gmail.com
   - and -
   Lynnli Wang, Asst.C.   (C)
   E: lynnli.wang@gmail.com

   27De1925 ded. Anton Brees
   1926-27 Percival Price
   1927    Ruth Muzzy Conniston (1892-1952)
   1927-60 Kamiel Lefévere (1888-1972)
   1960-89 James R. Lawson (1919-2003)
   1990-98 Joseph Clair Davis   (A)
   1999-2018 Dionisio A. Lind   (A)
            (1931-2018)
   2018-19 (position vacant)

*Contact:

   The Riverside Church
   490 Riverside Drive
   New York, NY  10027-5788
   T: 212-222-5900
   E: welcome/@/trcnyc DOTorg

*Schedule:

   1030, 1230, 1500 (sometimes 1430) on
   Sunday; also special occasions.
   Parsifal quarters.
   Public tours Wed-Sat 1pm (fee)

*Remarks:

   Largest carillon in the world from
   its original installation until 1960;
   still the heaviest; first installation
   here had electro-pneumatic assist
   (3 volume levels) on 6 largest bells.
   Out of action 2000-04 (except for the
   five swinging bells) during renovation
   by Tim Hurd; rededicated Sept.2004;
   Vanbergen/Heiligerlee bells removed to
   storage in church basement until
   acquired by B.A.Sunderlin in 2017,
   along with Vanbergen practice keyboard.
   New practice keyboard by T.Hurd on
   21st floor.
   Mechanism for small bells revised by
   Meeks, Watson & Co. c.2021.
   Campa (Belgium) provided controls for
   swinging bells.
   See   BIRMINGHAM - FPC, USA - AL   for
   original keyboard from Park Avenue,
   though its matching practice keyboard
   is on display on 9th floor of tower.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 74 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is C  in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     F G   /    F D 33
   Transposition is down 5 semitone(s), i.e., from C to G 
   There is one missing bass semitone
   There is an identical practice console
   58 bells were recast or replaced in 2003
     by Whitechapel  
   Prior history:
     In 1956, the instrument was enlarged to 74 bells
       by vanBergen   
       (0 bells remain from that work.)
       Keyboard range was:     C G 68/    F D 33
     In 1931, the instrument was enlarged to 72 bells
       by Gillett & Johnston
       (4 bells were added in and/or remain from that work.)
       Keyboard range was:     C F 66/    F D 33
     In 1925, the instrument was begun with 53 bells
       by Gillett & Johnston
       (12 bells remain from that work.)
       Pitch of heaviest bell was E  in the bass octave
       Keyboard range was:     G C   /    G C 29
       Transposition was down 3 semitone(s), i.e., from C to A 
   Auxiliary mechanisms: S5Q4H 
   Tower details: 
     Height of console:                 98 meters above ground
     Height of lowest level of bells:   90 meters above ground
     Height of highest level of bells: 103 meters above ground
     Belfry openness:  62%
   Year of latest technical information source is 2022

The church Website includes a hard-to-find page about the carillon, with a photograph of the 20-ton bourdon.  But it fails to mention the total renovation completed in 2004.  A page about the church mentions the carillon and includes an unusual aerial photo of the building.  The Tours page indicates that the tower, which for many years was closed to the public, is now open; it gives important information about the rules and cost of tower tours, and has photos of tower top and bells.

A history page for Central Presbyterian Church includes several historic photos of the installation of the original G&J bells there.

In a Sep.2020 article on "The 9 Best Observation Decks in NYC," #5 is Riverside Church, with a photo from an outside balcony at the top of the tower.

The English Wikipedia article about Ruth Muzzy Conniston Morize mentions her carillon playing.
Photo of her at the keyboard of Park Avenue Baptist Church, wearing both gloves and finger stalls.

Video (2:33) with Dio Lind

Video (5:26) of the swinging bells pealing on a Sunday morning; but the great bass bell is never heard, because of some mechanical issue at the time.

Video report (2:41) about tours of Riverside Church tower, with exterior and interior shots.

Blog article on tours of the Riverside Church; a photo gallery has many interesting pictures taken in the belfry.

News article on the resumption of tours, with video (2:09) plus a large photo of the bourdon bell.
Another video article (1:56) on the same subject.
Another article on this subject, with photos in and from the belfry.

A news article (Feb'20) on building construction near Riverside Church NYC has an evening aerial photo of the neighborhood, which shows the church tower quite nicely.

A Jan.2017 article on "The Top 10 Secrets of NYC's Riverside Church" has 3 photos of the tower and mentions the carillon's bass bell.

WCF article on the rebuilding of this carillon, with photos

A city advertising site has good photos and text on Riverside Church. 

A photo of the tower from the eastern street side accompanies reports from two visitors (#1, #2), both mentioning the carillon.

Recording (from 1970) of James R. Lawson playing the Riverside Church carillon

Building photos from Emporis Buildings
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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 Gillett & Johnston bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the third phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the vanBergen bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Whitechapel 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 grand carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

The eight bass bells of this carillon are among all great bells in North America.

Index to all traditional carillons in NY.

Index to all tower bell instruments in NY.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2023/07/19
   and on technical data last updated on 2022/06/24