‘The Victors’ performed for 1st time in nearly a decade in newly restored Charles Baird Carillon concert

MEDIA ADVISORY

DATE: 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25

EVENT: The Baird Carillon Rededication Recital with guest artist Jonathan Lehrer celebrates the completed restoration of the University of Michigan’s Charles Baird 53-bell carillon.

The concert will begin with the first full performance of “The Victors” on the Baird Carillon since the 2017 U-M Bicentennial. University carillonist Tiffany Ng will join Lehrer for the duet. “The Victors” will also be livestreamed on the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance’s YouTube channel.

Media are permitted to photograph and/or take video from inside the bell chamber during the performance of “The Victors” with prior authorization. Ng is available for interviews.

“There are fewer than 200 carillons in North America and U-M is only one of three college campuses in the world to boast not just one, but two carillons,” Ng said. “There are also only a dozen full-time carillon positions in North America, many at universities, so I feel incredibly privileged to get to perform here and work with our incredible students.”

Another highlight of the program is “To The Sun,” an interactive 10-minute performance for carillon and audience cellphones based on data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. The U-M Frankel Detroit Observatory will coordinate a solar observation station at the base of the carillon throughout the recital, weather permitting. Their solar telescope provides magnificent views of sunspots, prominences and more.

This summer, the 30 largest clappers were replaced, and the great steel frame from which the 43 tons of bells are suspended was restored. Tours of the bell chamber will begin after the conclusion of the recital around 4 p.m. The bell chamber may be accessed via a combination of elevator and stairs, but is not ADA accessible. Inside the tower lobby, prolific LEGO builder David Lorch, a program director at U-M Medical School, will also be exhibiting his LEGO model of Burton Memorial Tower.

FULL CONCERT PROGRAM

LIVESTREAM LINK: “The Victors“

PLACE: Ingalls Mall, 881 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor

SPONSOR: The event is supported by an Arts Initiative Project Support grant.