Chiming Sites

 A carillon, like a pipe organ, is one of those instruments where you must dance, type, decode a secret message, solve mathematical equations and stay on the beat all at the same time. Upper body strength and the ability to make it look easy are a plus.

 No surprise there are only about 600 of these “unusual and temperamental” instruments in the world. It might be news there are four in Florida.

 The best known is the Bok Tower ( https://boktowergardens.org/the-carillon/ ) in Lake Wales.

  Carillonneur Wade FitzGerald, one of the guests in this Florida Frontiers segment, says his instrument is simply “one of the best in the world.” He is also the one who said it is an “unusual and temperamental” instrument. He should know, he has had it virtually to himself while serving a fellowship during the pandemic ( https://www.tampa

bay.com/news/health/2020/04/02/he-plays-the-bells-at-bok-tower-gardens-now-hes-there-all-alone/ ).

  Wade more or less stumbled into the gig after learning how to play on what is likely the second best known carillon in the state, the Century Tower on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville ( https://arts.ufl.edu/sites/carillon-studio/welcome/ ).

As Professor Laura Ellis,(  https://arts.ufl.edu/directory/profile/1679/ ) the other guest on the episode, says students happen to hear the tower’s daily mini concert, get curious, get captivated, get trained and get assigned to climb the nearly 200 steps to the top of the tower to perform the daily concert. Thus, the chiming cycle continues.

 If you are a Floridian, you own the third best known carillon in the state along the banks of the Suwannee River near White Springs ( https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/stephen-foster-folk-culture-center-state-park ). You can guess at least one of the songs played at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center.

  The fourth site is probably closest in spirit to the origin of the carillon, at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Clearwater ( https://www.churchofascension.org/).

  Finally, to see a college professor dance, type, decode a secret message, etc. click on the Attachment icon on this episode’s web page:

 ( https://myfloridahistory.org/frontiers/radio/program/436 )