Filed under: Docubloggers Episode, Docublogs - KLRU
Three times a week for over 45 years, 84 year old Tom Anderson entertains both students and the neighborhood surrounding the University of Texas.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Tom enters the iconic tower on the UT campus. A white haired man with a distinctive drawl, Mr Anderson takes the elevator to the 27th floor, makes his way through several locked doors, up the narrow steps that wind behind the massive clock face and up to a small room at the very top. Few people know who he is, yet his work is known to many.
Tom, along with Chris Humphrey and Kim Schaffer play a contraption known as a carillon. A musical instrument of mammoth proportions, this is the largest Carillon in Texas. Looking like an exploded piano, Tom explains that its a series of levers and pedals, connected by cables to the clappers inside the giant bells at the top of the tower. This is the largest carillon in Texas. It has 56 bells, with the smallest bell weighing 20 pounds and the largest at over 7,000 lbs.
You can tell right away that these people love what they do. Tom, Chris and Kim are all very dedicated to playing and performing for such a large audience and you have to appreciate being able to play something that can be heard for miles around. You don’t realize it from the ground, but as we accidentally learned while taping this segment, these things are INCREDIBLY loud.
And in the “You learn something every day” category: you know that hourly chime that you hear at 15, 30 and 45 minutes past the hour? It actually has a name. It’s known officially as the “Westminster Quarters” and is believed to be a variations on a musical piece from Handel’s Messiah. That is the only thing that is automated with the carillon. The music that plays in the afternoons and during comencement and other ceremonies is created by hand, by individuals like Tom, Chris and Kim. All dedicated to showcasing and growing the art of carillon playing.
Secretly I wanted to play “chopsticks” just to be able to say I did it, but my professionalism prevented me from asking.
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I really enjoyed this segment. Being a UT alum, I always wondered about the songs they played on campus and now I can put a face with the songs! It’s great to see the people who work so hard on something that is such a staple of life on campus the recognition they deserve. Great piece.
Comment by wendy.atl 05.30.08 @ 12:29 pmLeave a comment
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