If you’ve been on or near the north side of campus, it’s very likely you’ve heard some tunes coming from the bell tower located in the Ritchie Center. The Clarion has done a few articles on our previous carillonist, but we have a new guy in town. Meet Joey Brink, a first-year faculty member of the Lamont School of Music and our very own carillonist who can play just about anything you want to hear.
Brink grew up playing piano, but didn’t start the carillon until he went to college at Yale University. After receiving his undergraduate degree in engineering, he spent a year playing the bells in Belgium. About halfway through his Ph.D. in Utah, he decided to change his path and make the carillon his true passion.
“I did enjoy engineering, but I was pretty excited to go into the bell world full-time,” Brink said.
He spent seven years playing and teaching the carillon full-time at the University of Chicago, and just recently moved to Denver to start his new position here. He came out West because he loves being surrounded by the mountains and the beautiful nature of Colorado. “Also, the carillon here at DU is really amazing….it’s only 23 years old,” he said. He had played up in the tower a few times before working here, so he was excited to come and play it every day.
Brink has two young children at home, so he enjoys his part-time position here at the University. Let’s take a look at his daily life on campus.
He starts his day off in the practice room, located in the Newman Center. There, he practices the songs he plans on playing for everyone to hear that day. Most of the time, it is a song request from the request form. He prints out the music and goes over it a few times before going public. Clearly, Brink has a lot of skills to be learning and playing new songs every day. Challenge him with a tricky tune and listen carefully for it when you’re in earshot of the bell tower.
After practice, he goes to the bell tower around 11:30 a.m., where he often gives a tour to students or faculty members. This is an option for anyone interested, and all you have to do is send him an email (joey.brink@du.edu).
By 11:45 a.m., he starts playing the bells.
“I’ll play whatever I really feel like playing,” he said. “Everyone on campus can hear what I’m playing within a block or two, so I want to make sure I’m not repeating myself. You can sometimes tell what kind of mood I’m in based on the music you hear from the tower.”
Sometimes, Brink will play music that reflects the weather. See if you can try to make that connection when walking by the bell tower.
After he gets done playing, he will teach a lesson or two. This is another opportunity to get involved with the carillon. Brink teaches a two credit course that you can register for any quarter, no experience needed. However, he noted that it would be easier for students who have a little background knowledge in keyboard or piano. Lessons are once a week, for only a half hour, so it isn’t a huge time commitment. Every other week is spent up in the tower, playing the bells for all to hear. The rest of the time is spent in the practice room, learning the basics. Brink encourages students to take more than one quarter of carillon, because it allows him to teach more complicated songs that are enjoyable to play and hear.
There are several ways to get involved with the carillon experience. Schedule a tower tour, send in a song request, or enroll in a class to join in on such a fun and important tradition of DU. Or, you can simply enjoy the music and thank Joey Brink for bringing such a cool talent to our school.
