As the sky darkens and students head home from class, activity continues high above campus. Through winding hallways and locked doors, a select few climb 91 steps to reach a small room inside the Tower. Unbeknownst to most, the Tower’s where the music ringing across campus begins.
The UT Guild of Carillonneurs, a small student organization, plays the Kniker Carillon, an instrument with at least 23 bells operated with a keyboard and foot pedals. Players strike wooden batons with half-closed fists to produce the bell’s sound. Situated above the 27th floor of the UT tower, the carillon is the largest in Texas.
Elisante Msengi, a mechanical engineering master’s student and director of music for the Guild of Carillonneurs, said his passion for sharing music drove him to join.
“Looking for an opportunity to do something (with music) on campus found me auditioning for the guild because what better way to share music than with 50,000 curious ears?” Msengi said.
Msengi said he first discovered the guild while walking through campus as a freshman. After hearing one of his favorite Bach Christmas chorales being played from the tower, his interest was immediately piqued.
Like Msengi, other guild members first discovered the organization through its music echoing across campus.
“During one of my tours to UT, I was walking past the Tower and … I heard two separate songs, and I was like, ‘So clearly, it’s not the same song every time,’” computer science freshman Eli Friedman said. “(I) did a little research, … I applied, I auditioned (and) joined.”
Although the music may sound effortless from the ground, learning to play the carillon presents an entirely different challenge.
Clarinet performance senior Katelyn Nguyen said learning the carillon required her to approach learning an instrument differently than she was accustomed to. Since she joined the guild over a year ago, coordinating the foot pedals posed the biggest challenge.
“Learning the music with your feet, that’s the hardest part,” Nguyen said. “The best pieces have feet involved, so I always try to challenge myself.”
While the carillon can be used to perform classical pieces, the guild’s repertoire extends beyond traditional compositions. Given the freedom to select their own pieces, members choose songs ranging from works by John Williams to songs from “The Phantom of the Opera.”
“I usually like my music to be a reaction to something,” Msengi said. “If it’s raining outside or if it’s windy, … I like to play music that responds to that.”
Although the carillonneurs play high above campus, their music reaches students throughout the Forty Acres. Through their performances, guild members share their love of music with the UT community.
”I always say, ‘We do this for campus,’” Msengi said. “We can have 1,000 or 2,000 people roaming and listening. If 1,999 of them don’t care at all for what we do, but even one reaches out and says, ‘Hey, I love that. That made my day,’ then that’s all we need to know that what we do is worth it.”
