The Bell Tower Center Carillon

*Location:

   The Bell Tower Center
   (was Hillside Village; shopping center)
   1330 Wirt Road, at Westview Drive
   Spring Branch
   Houston, Texas, USA
   LL: N 29.79455, W 95.48463

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Corbin Sturch
   E: corbinsturch@gmail.com

   19??-99 C. Eugene Lasater  (1927-99)(A)
   ??-2006 Carol Jickling Lens   (C)
   ??-??   Larry Williams   (A)

*Contact:

   Stanley D. Stearns   (H)
   Valco Instruments Co., Inc.
   7811 Westview Drive
   Houston, TX  77055-5030
   W: 713-688-9345
   - or -
   Larry E. Williams   (A)
   8053 Cedel Drive
   Houston, TX  77055-1201
   H: 713-932-9057   W: 713-984-1242
   F: 713-552-0007
   E: LBassoon@aol.com

*Schedule:

   Spring and Fall recital series,
   1900 Fridays.

*Remarks:

   Major-third bells; the original 48
   (and the main frame) were formerly in
   the Eijsbouts traveling carillon,
   appearing at the 1986 World Carillon
   Congress in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
   Four basses added & 2 trebles recast
   for this installation; autoplay and
   clock-chimes via external hammers on
   original 4 octaves.
   Tower tours at 3pm Sunday afternoons
   by appointment.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 53 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is G  in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     C C 49/    G G 24
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   There is one missing bass semitone
   The presence or absence of a practice console is unknown
   The instrument was enlarged in 1991
     with  6 bells made by Eijsbouts    
   Prior history:
     In 1986, the instrument was begun with 47 bells
       by Eijsbouts   
       Pitch of heaviest bell was A# in the middle octave
       Keyboard range was:     C C   /    C --  
       Transposition was up 10 semitone(s), i.e., from C to A#
       There were two missing bass semitones
   Auxiliary mechanisms: EH    
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2020

The tower has a Facebook page.

An online tour of Valco Instruments has two pictures of the tower; both can be clicked to see larger versions.

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.

Other grand carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

Index to all traditional carillons in TX.

Index to all tower bell instruments in TX.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2020/04/15
   and on technical data last updated on 2020/04/15