Perched on a bench in Beaumont Tower, University Carillonneur Ray McLellan waited patiently to perform for an audience he couldn't see. Below, a quiet crowd of listeners took in McLellan's carillon performance of Matthias van den Gheyn's "Preludio III."
"The audience can't see you and you can't see them, but you know they're there," McLellan said. "You just kind of have to imagine the audience. You get to come down and greet them afterward."
The recital was the first performance of the annual Muelder Summer Carillon Series, which will take place at 6 p.m. every Wednesday in July. The evening's hour-long concert featured performances by McLellan as well as assistant carillonneurs Patricia Johannes, MSU's Associate General Counsel for administration Sally Harwood and physics and chemistry professor William McHarris.
The series of five concerts will feature performers from the United States, as well as the Netherlands, British Columbia and Belgium.
Last night's performance included carillon renditions of works by a wide range of composers, including Johann Strauss, Scott Joplin, George F. Handel and a composition by performer McHarris.
"I like composition better than performance. It's the fun part. But this is a fun thing to do," McHarris said.
Johannes, a member of the MSU Choral Union and a secretary with the economics department, said the concert series will offer a wide variety of music. She described the experience of playing the carillon bells as something beyond a normal musical performance.
"It is the most awesome performing I've ever done," Johannes said. "It's often very spiritual, I feel closer to God in the tower. Because you're not playing in front of the people you forget they're there and you concentrate completely on the music."
Because of the massive size of the bells, some larger than a truck tire, the music could be heard from a great distance.
"It's a big instrument, probably the biggest in the world," McLellan said. "We're talking about original heavy metal music here."
The crowd grew from small to large as people spread out, some setting up lawn chairs, others bringing a full picnic set. Joggers repeatedly stopped and gazed at the tower and took a breather to listen.
Computer science senior Nathan Thelen said he heard about the performance on National Public Radio and decided to take a study break to listen.
"I was working in the library," Thelen said. "It's nice to just sit and listen to the bells toll."
After the performance, the musicians met the audience's applause at the tower base. McLellan said he was happy with the performance and to expect more of the same from future recitals, recommending that audience members try listening from different locations at the next performances.
"Some people go to the same spot every year," McLellan said. "I myself like to walk around and hear how it sounds from all over the place."
