The Bells of Summer Ring at Rockefeller Chapel

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel's 51st season of The Bells of Summer opens on Sunday, June 26, 2016, with a performance by Rachel Perfecto of the Royal Carillon School, Mechelen, Belgium. This series of one-hour carillon concerts continues each Sunday through August 7. The concerts begin at 5 p.m. and admission is free! The public is invited to bring a lawn chair or blanket and a picnic supper, find a spot on the chapel's lawn, and listen to the concert. Well-behaved dogs are also welcome.

What Is a Carillon?

A carillon is a set of stationary bells in a tower, usually played using a keyboard. A carillon is also a composition written or arranged for these bells.

Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Chapel Carillon

Here are some fun facts about the Rockefeller Chapel's carillon:

• Installed in 1932, changes were made to the installation in the 1960s. An extensive project to restore, update, and reorganize the installation was completed in 2008. To learn more, please visit Rockefeller Chapel's Carillon and Restoration of the Carillon pages.
• The carillon has 72 bells that were cast over a three-year period.
• The largest bell is 18.5 tons (36,926 pounds) and 117 inches in diameter. Read more about the carillon specifications on the Rockefeller Chapel website.
• A carillonneur plays the carillon. The current carillonneur, Joey Brink, is the sixth in the history of the University of Chicago.

The Bells of Summer
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
5850 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago
Map

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June 26 | Rachel Perfecto, Royal Carillon School, Mechelen, Belgium

July 3 | Carol Jickling Lens, Denver University

July 10 | Wesley Arai, University of California, Berkeley

July 17 | Hylke Banning, Amersfoort, The Netherlands

July 24 | Kymberly Stone, Brigham Young University

July 31 | Ellen Dickinson, Yale University

August 7 | Joey Brink, University of Chicago

To find more free summer concerts in Chicago, please visit the Music page.