BYU Centennial Carillon

*Location:

   BYU Centennial Carillon Tower
   Brigham Young University
   East 1430 North Street,
     east of North 600 East Street
   University Hill
   Provo, Utah, USA
   LL: N 40.25276, W 111.64762

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Don Cook, University Carillonneur
   C-550 HFAC
   Brigham Young University
   Provo, UT  84602-0002
   H: 801-798-2931   W: 801-422-3260
   F: 801-422-5973   E: don_cook@byu.edu
   - and -
   Amy Johnson
   - and -
   Brian Mathias

*Contact:

   School of Music
   C-550 Harris Fine Arts Center
   Brigham Young University
   Provo, UT  86402
   T: 801-422-3159   F: 801-422-5973

*Schedule:

   Weekdays at noon.

*Remarks:

   Denomination - Church of Jesus Christ
   of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon).
   Late 1993: completely renovated, with
   new keyboards & mechanism, rehung on
   revised frame with space for future
   addition of 2 bass bells.
   New practice keyboard: -Z58:GE/GC30
   Old practice keyboard: -Z53:CE/CC25
   Clock strike at half and hour (only) is
   first phrase of "Come, Come Ye Saints."
   Sep-Oct 2006: keyboard and transmission
   renovated.
   2025: Added bass bell cast by Eijsbouts
   to P&F profile; replaced all clapper
   and action-square bearings; replaced
   all 6 strikers and their control system.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 53 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is A# in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     A#E   /    A#C 25
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   There are two missing bass semitones
   There is an identical practice console
   The instrument was enlarged in 2025
     with bells made by Eijsbouts        
   Prior history:
     In 1993, the keyboard was replaced
       by an unknown maker
       Pitch of heaviest bell was C  in the middle octave
       Keyboard range was:     C E   /    C C 24
       There was one missing bass semitone
     In 1975, the complete instrument of 52 bells was installed
       with bells made by Petit & Fritsen
   Auxiliary mechanisms: Q6    
   Tower details: 
     Height of console:                 25 meters above ground
     Height of lowest level of bells:   28 meters above ground
     Height of highest level of bells:  31 meters above ground
     Belfry openness:  95%
   Year of latest technical information source is 2025

You can locate the Centennial Carillon Tower on the interactive campus map by scrolling the List of Facilities to #16 (building code BELL), and clicking that.  The map will then re-center itself on the belltower.  Nearby is an icon for a 360-degree panorama; click that (and rotate it) to get a view of the tower.  Unfortunately an official page about the BYU carillon was lost when the campus tour was redesigned.

A news article has a keyboard photo with an unusual perspective, and announces plans to acquire two additional bass bells.  (Click the photo for a larger version and another photo.)

Video (2:12) about the BYU bell tower and a few of the students who play it.

Waymarking page, with 3 photos

Where the initial 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 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 concert carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

Index to all traditional carillons in UT.

Index to all tower bell instruments in UT.

   This page was built from the database on  4-Oct-25
   based on textual data last updated on 2025/08/26
   and on technical data last updated on 2025/08/26