On Sept. 19, Oakland University commemorated the 10th anniversary of Elliott Tower with a special carillon concert by Dennis Curry.
Perfectly aligning with the golden hour of a clear summer day, alumni, students, and faculty gathered around OU’s landmark to enjoy music, prices and Yates Cider Mill donuts with apple cider.
Donated by Hugh and Nancy Elliott, the tower’s foundations were placed in April 2013. Highlighting its emblematic signature as a community project, Elliott Tower was designed by OU alumni, Delia Rodi, CEO of the architectural firm, Niagara Murano. OU’s first carillonneur, Dennis Curry, was the consultant in the design stage, traveling to the Netherlands for the casting of the bells.
“[The carillon bells] are some of the newest in the world,” Curry said. “They were cast by Petit and Fritsen Royal Bell-foundry. It’s the last carillon that the family made after 16 generations — a 350-year-old company.”
“It was kind of Nancy’s decision,” Curry said. “We listened to some carillons around Bloomfield Hills, we went to the Kirk in the Hills, Christchurch Cranbrook and St. Hugo’s. She said, “Well, they’ve got bells, but the Kirk has a carillon’ and the rest is history.”
The 151-foot-tall structure features a chromatic 49-bell carillon, which separates it from standard bell towers. “The top bell is 24 pounds in the tower and the big bell is 5000 pounds, so the total weight is 30,000 pounds in bronze.”
Curry delighted the audience with a carillon concert with pieces ranging from “Carillon,” composed by Georg Frideric Handel to “Stayin’ Alive” by The Bee Gees.
“My favorite piece to play is the piece I’m playing at the time,” Curry said. “They’re all challenging sometimes, and I usually pick the repertoire that suits the occasion.”
The occasion comes every Friday at noon when OU carillonneurs play live for half an hour with a program selected by Curry. However, his experience goes back to 1989, when he became a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) to later become president of the guild.
“I always say it’s medieval aerobics because we had to climb up in these towers and [Elliott Tower] is a fairly short tower compared to Europe,” Curry said. “In Europe, the carillon would be the center of the market square, so it was either in the town hall or the cathedral. So, the towers kept getting taller because the next town wanted to have more bells and taller towers, so I played in places that were over 500 steps to the top.”
At the base of the tower, attendees shared their memories with the structure.
“The first time I saw it was during my orientation,” Jasmin Carmona, a psychology student, said. “I was walking out of the OC, and it all became real, I was actually a student at OU.”
“I actually graduated from here in ‘99, I was originally a Pioneer before we were Grizzlies,” Anne Marie Pino, OU alumni, said. “I brought my mom and dad to listen to the carillon today because my grandmother used to have a carillon in Florida, so it is very nice to hear this again.”
“I feel like Elliott Tower is to OU what the Statue of Liberty is to New York or the Eiffel Tower to Paris,” Alfredo Gomez, a health sciences student, said. “Every time a student walks by it, it’s a symbol reminding them that they are part of a larger academic community. It is an immersive experience of college life.”
