Congresses

The GCNA holds an annual Congress in June, at a different location each year, lasting about four days. A Congress site will have at least one large carillon for recitals and may include one or more other carillons which are nearby. Congresses include business meetings, recitals by invited artists, and formal and informal gatherings. As part of the process of becoming a Carillonneur Member of the Guild, candidates must play an advancement recital which is judged by an advancement committee. If the committee and the voting membership approve, the candidate is admitted to Carillonneur membership.

Associated with the annual Congress, there is often a pre-Congress and/or post-Congress day with various informal (and optional) activities, typically including visits to nearby carillons or other places of interest that were not included in the formal Congress schedule.

Regional gatherings are sometimes organized by local carillonneurs. Official business is not conducted at such meetings.

Membership in the Guild is not required for attendance at official or unofficial gatherings. However, announcements of the details of such gatherings are usually distributed only to members, and all attendees are expected to pay whatever registration fees may be involved.

The Guild welcomes invitations to host a Congress in a future year. Contact the President of the Guild for more information.

Past Congresses

The first gathering of North American carillonneurs was held at Hartford in 1934. It laid the groundwork for the GCNA, which came into existence at the second such gathering, held in Ottawa in 1936. Congresses have been held annually since 1946. All are listed below.

In the First Bulletin, published in 1940, the meetings of 1934, 1936 and 1939 were referred to as the First, Second and Third Congresses of Carillonneurs in North America. Following World War II, there was a period of time when annual congresses of the Guild were simply identified by the year in which they were held. Current practice, which is followed in the list below, numbers the congresses with respect to the founding of the Guild.

Roman numerals following a location indicate that more than one congress has been held at that location. Dates are included when known.

It is common to visit other carillons in the vicinity during a congress; those are not listed. When more than one location is listed, each served as an official host for part of the Congress.