If you have ever walked by the Williams Bell Tower at DU, a golden landmark in Denver, chances are you have heard the toll of the bells that automatically ring every fifteen minutes. If you are lucky, you may have heard Carol Jickling-Lens, the University Carillonneur and an adjunct professor at the Lamont School of Music, play a song on the grand carillon at the top of the 215 foot tall tower.
The Williams Carillon is one of two carillons in all of Colorado. The instrument is played from a wooden keyboard and pedal keys that control 65 bronze bells, the largest of which weighs six tons. Tucked away at the top of a dizzying spiral staircase inside the ornately decorated bell tower, the carillon is a sight that not many students get to see or appreciate.
Jickling-Lens wants to change that. Growing up in Michigan, Carol played the piano and sang in the children’s choir until she discovered the carillon at the age of 13 and was “bitten by the carillon bug.” She continued her studies at the University of Michigan, where she had the opportunity to study at the Netherlands Carillon School and received her diploma in carillon performance. Since then, she has played recitals all over the world, as well as lived in England, Ghana, Houston, New Orleans and Libya. Her family eventually moved to Denver, where she was appointed University Carillonneur at DU in 2010.
However, it is difficult to make a living playing this niche instrument: “In North America, there’s only about five full-time jobs and everybody else is adjunct, like myself,” she said. “But I just absolutely loved playing this. Everybody can play the piano, but how many people can come up here and play this?”
Jickling-Lens shares the Williams Carillon with other carillonneurs, including a few of her own students, and she is eager to teach interested students with musical backgrounds to play the carillon. In addition to playing the Williams Carillon and teaching students, she plays at recitals, graduation ceremonies, hockey games and gives elaborate tours of the bell tower.
Just recently, Jickling-Lens kicked off the Lamont Faculty Artists Series, a series of performances meant to highlight Lamont faculty. Guests sat outside the bell tower and listened to a variety of songs, from Broadway tunes to Claude Debussy. As for when she plays at DU, she plays music that matches the changing seasons and holidays, so be alert for Halloween music emanating from the bell tower this month.
Jickling-Lens and her one-of-a-kind skills are a special and integral part of DU. If you are interested in visiting the beautiful interior of the tower and hearing the carillon played right in front of you with a view of the mountains and campus, contact Carol for a tour or more information at carol.lens@du.edu. The 95 steps to the top of the sparkling tower are worth it.
