Associate Exam

This page presents the information needed for a candidate to apply and take the new GCNA Associate Carillonneur Exam (ACE).

ACE Exam packet

I. Introduction

The ACE is designed for current GCNA Associate members who are already playing the carillon regularly and who would like to have feedback and recognition from the GCNA. The candidate's performing instrument may be of any size, including a two-octave instrument. The level of the music is of moderate difficulty.

To avoid an overload of applications at first, only candidates from North America will be accepted at this time. Since all of these procedures are new, the committee will refine the actual process, as necessary, from time to time.

This exam is much like an easier version of the current Carillonneur Exam, and it has some different aspects:

1. The ACE has two instructional components (carillon history and program creating),
2. candidates are not anonymous to the judges,
3. a carillonneur member’s approval signature is not required on an application,
4. a short video of the candidate playing one of the pieces is required, and
5. candidates will not be required to perform at a Congress or be voted on by the Guild membership.

The committee members/judges, all of whom are experienced carillon teachers, will be able to communicate with the candidates about aspects of their playing and, if deemed helpful and desired, offer suggestions for improvement. The candidate will have one judge/teacher assigned to work with him or her. Only successful performers’ names will be released to the membership.

II. Requirements

A. The Music

Playing the Carillon: An Introductory Method, by John Gouwens, is the required book for those candidates who play three- and four-octave carillons. The book contains specified choices for the required pieces, useful sections about many aspects of performance, and a carillon history section. The 2010 edition of the book is preferred because it has all the specified music choices, some of which are not included in the 2002 edition. However, an candidate who already has a copy of the 2002 edition may use the older book. The handling and pedaling marks placed by the editor in the required music need not be followed.

Required Pieces From Playing the Carillon – For Four-Octave Instruments (choose two)

*Sarabande, by Ronald Barnes, p. 22
*Slow Dance, by Roy Hamlin Johnson, p. 24
*Pastel in Bronze, by Albert Gerken, p. 38
*Suite No. 1: Sonorities, by John Courter, p. 64
Seven Modal Pieces: Mixolydian Mode, by John Courter, p. 70
Seven Modal Pieces: Aeolian Mode, by John Courter, p. 72
Toccata for 42 Bells, by Robert Moore, p. 87
Prelude V, by Matthias Van den Gheyn, p, 91

Required Pieces From Playing the Carillon - For Three-Octave Instruments (choose two)

*Second Prelude, by Theophil Rusterholz, p.14
*Pedal Aria, by John Gouwens, p. 20
Three Short Pieces: Waltz, by John Gouwens, p. 48
De Gruytters Carillon Book: Andante, by Joseph-Hector Fiocco, p. 62
De Gruytters Carillon Book: Giga, by François Couperin, p. 76
Allegro (Anonymous), p. 103

The asterisk means that the piece may be found in both editions of the book.

The Belmont Carillon Book, Volume II, compiled and edited by Beverly Buchanan in 1994, offers a choice of required pieces for players of two-octave instruments, as well as other two-octave pieces an candidate might find useful. The handling and pedaling marks placed by the editor in the music need not be followed. Copies of the John Gouwens book history information, as well as some performance suggestions from the same book, will be available to the candidates who play two-octave instruments. Notify the committee chair if you play a two-octave carillon and need the history information.

Required Pieces from The Belmont Book, Volume II - For Two-Octave Instruments
(choose two)

Coronation March, by Clifford Ball, p. 40
Belmont Suite: Prelude, by John Knox, p. 44
Belmont Suite: Final Flourish, by John Knox, p. 48
Festival Prelude, by Gladys Watkins, p. 50
Muss I Denn, Swabian Folk Song, arranged Percival Price, p. 54
Stillness, Russian Folk Melody, arranged Percival Price, p. 62
Marche en Rondeau, by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, p. 77
Rondo, K-13, by W.A. Mozart, p. 86

Both books are published by the GCNA (order from the Guild; Playing the Carillon: An Introductory Method and The Belmont Carillon Book). In addition to the two required pieces, candidates may choose which other piece(s) they will perform and record, except that none of the recorded submissions is to be a composition, arrangement, transcription or improvisation created by the candidate.

B. Audio Recordings

1. Choose two of the required pieces corresponding to your carillon’s range and other music of at least medium difficulty for 15-20 total minutes of music.
2. If you are unsure if a piece you choose to record is of medium difficulty, compare it with the difficulty of the required pieces.
3. You may choose pieces that are more difficult than the required pieces to complete your recording.
4. Record the pieces you choose separately on a digital recorder and burn them on to a CD or DVD, identifying them by your and the composer’s last names (i.e., Smith/Mozart). (Note: you may use the same DVD to submit your video recording.)

Recording Tips

Place the microphone in an area where there is good balance for the bell sounds. If possible, avoid having the microphone in the playing room to avoid keyboard noise.

Before finalizing your recording, listen to each piece carefully with the music in front of you. Ask yourself:

1. Will the judges be able to hear the details of my performance on this recording?
2. Is my playing musical?
3. Does the piece actually sound the way I intend it to sound?
4. Are marks on the music reflected in the recorded performance?
5. Are the rhythms, dynamics and tempi accurate?
6. Where might my performance be shown on the Standards sheet?

Depending on your answers, you may decide to record some pieces again.

C. Videotape Recording

A part or all of one required piece must be videotaped. That video must be compressed and burned onto the same DVD as the audio recordings or emailed to the committee chair. We think that almost everyone owns or has a friend who owns a smart phone or a video camera. The video of the candidate playing must clearly show the candidate’s head, hands, and feet. Since the judges have another, hopefully clearly recorded, audio recording of the piece, the microphone for the video recording may be in the playing room. The committee realizes that no more than 5 MB of a compressed video may be sent by email from some smart phones.

D. History Requirement

Candidates are to read the carillon history pages in Playing the Carillon: An Introductory Method by John Gouwens (two-octave carillon players are to contact the committee chair to receive the history pages) and then create one of the following:

1. A brochure for their own instrument, including a history of their own instrument and a general history of the carillon,
2. A website for their own instrument, including a history of their own instrument and a general history of the carillon,
3. A short summary of carillon history (the length of the summary should be no more than three double-spaced pages), or
4. A short outline of the carillon history information.

E. Program Requirement

Along with the application include two sample carillon concert programs you have created of music you know or of actual carillon music you think would make a good program. Each program should be at least 30 minutes in length. Include a short personal bio for use with the programs.

Programming Tips

1. Instead of listing single pieces one after another, decide if several could be grouped together using headings such as “Three Folk Songs,” “Two Hymns,” “Three Transcriptions,” “Two Twentieth Century Pieces for Carillon,” “Two Pieces by French Composers,” etc. You are free to think of other groupings.
2. Remember, variety in programming helps create interest. One way to provide variety is to avoid programming successive selections in the same key.
3. Similarly, when possible, program music with different rhythms, keys and tempi.
4. Plan the beginning and ending pieces of a program carefully. The first piece will set a certain mood: perhaps dramatic, perhaps meditative, etc.
5. Place on the program information about the pieces: composers’ names and birth and death year dates (if known) and arrangers’ names.
6. Pieces familiar to general audiences are effective in drawing your listeners into your performance.
7. Another good idea is to have program notes in a different section of the program. However, program notes are not required for the two programs to be submitted.

III. The Application And Judging Process

A. Application

At any time of year an Associate Member in good standing with the GCNA (i.e., whose dues payments are current) may submit an examination packet to the committee chair. The information in the packet should include:

1. A completed application along with a US$20 payment, either a personal check or credit card charge. Here is how to make GCNA Credit card payments.
   
   Send an email to treasurer David Hunsberger stating the following:
   1) What the payment is for; 2.) Your name as it appears on your credit card; 3.) The type of credit card (choose one: Visa, Master Card or Discover); 4.) The card number and expiration date (month and year). As a security precaution, feel free to split the card number and expiration date into two or three emails. Payments using PayPal will be available in the future. Contact the treasurer to find out availability.
2. One copy of a 15-20 minute audio recording on a CD or DVD of the candidate’s playing, including two required pieces and one or more additional pieces resulting in 15-20 minutes of music, plus a video of the candidate playing a part or all of one required piece, clearly showing the candidate’s head, hands, and feet. The video may be compressed and burned onto the DVD or videotaped on a smart phone and then sent by email to the committee chair.
3. A written program telling what has been recorded on the CD/DVD.
4. One photocopy of any music recorded that is not in the required books or on the list of required pieces.
5. Two concert programs created by the candidate of music he or she likes to play or would like to play for concerts.
6. A short personal bio to be used with the programs.
7. The candidate’s carillon history project.

B. Judging

1. Standards for Carillon Performance is the document used by the judges to evaluate candidates' performances. It was adapted from a similar organ document in use at Brigham Young University.
2. Three of the committee members will listen to the audio recording, watch the video and enter their scores and comments on an evaluation sheet. They will also read the history project, the two programs and the bio.
3. A "pass" vote of two of the three judges is required for the candidate to pass the exam.
4. The candidate will receive copies of the judges’ marks and comments.
5. The names of those candidates who do not pass will not be released.
6. With the approval of the judges, and after at least a six-month period, an unsuccessful candidate may reapply to retake all or part of the exam.
7. Candidates who meet the standards set by the committee will, after Board action, receive a certificate and an annotation in the GCNA membership directory that they have successfully completed the ACE.

Associate Carillonneur Exam (ACE) Committee
Don Cook, Ellen Dickinson, Linda Dzuris, James Fackenthal
Margo Halsted, Chair
Consultant: John Gouwens

ACE Chair contact information:
Prof. Margo Halsted
550 Orange Grove Circle, #341
Pasadena, CA 91105