MIDDLETOWN -- WU : USA - CT

*Location:

   Cupola
   South College Building
   Wesleyan University
   High Street north of William Street
   Middletown, Connecticut, USA
   LL: N 41.55592, W 72.65597

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*Player:

   "Bell & Scroll" (student guild)
   - and -
   Prof. Peter Frenzel
   Department of German Studies
   T: (860)685-3386   F: (860)685-2091
   E: pfrenzel@wesleyan.edu

*Contact:

   Wesleyan University
   Wesleyan Station
   Middletown, CT  06459
   T: (860)685-2000

*Schedule:

  (unknown)

*Remarks:

   Baton keyboard by James Akright, Berea,
   KY, installed 1966; both keyboards
   modified for 2005 expansion; treble
   C# omitted.
   Pedalboard remains to be added.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 24 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is D# in the middle octave
   Transposition is up  3 semitone(s)
   Keyboard range:     C CD  /    NONE  
   There are two missing bass semitones
   There is an identical practice console
   The instrument was enlarged in 2005
     with  8 bells made by Petit & Fritsen
   Prior history:
     In 1966, the instrument was enlarged to 16 bells
       by Whitechapel 
       (5 bells were added in and/or remain from that work.)
     In 1918, the instrument was begun with 11 bells
       by Whitechapel 
       (11 bells remain from that work.)
   Year of latest technical information source is 2005

Additional information on the technical history of this instrument can be found in a database printout.

*Links:

On the University Website, information about the South College Building is hard to find, though there is a tiny photo and description accessible from the interactive map on the Virtual Tour.  There is an extensive new group of pages about the carillon, including an audio clip and mention of a CD and a DVD that have been made.  A page in the campus tour describes this building and its two neighbors, but doesn't picture it.  Also, use the Search facility (keyword "carillon") to find several news articles about the carillon and its recent expansion.  In particular, an article about the bells includes a photograph of the interior of the belfry.  And a more recent article describes the expansion from chime to carillon.

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Whitechapel bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Whitechapel bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Petit & Fritsen 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).

Index to all traditional carillons in CT.

Index to all tower bell instruments in CT.

*Status:

   This page was built from the database on 25-Sep-06
   based on textual data last updated on 2006/09/19
   and on technical data last updated on 2005/09/28

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

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