What goes on in the BYU Bell Tower

Every day, a few BYU students go up the tower next to the Bean Museum to do their job — playing an instrument called a carillon.

Ben Tischner, a sophomore majoring in organ performance, has been doing it for a year.

“Imagine the carillon like a big, blown-up piano. You have the white keys and the black keys, but instead of little plastic things on a condensed keyboard, they’re blown up and they’re big wooden rods that you play with your fists, and those are connected to the bells in the tower,” he said.

Levi Kelley, an organ major and student carillonneur for two years, said the instrument was built in 1975 to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the university. The carillon holds 52 bells, the smallest weighing 23 pounds and the largest at 4,730 pounds.

Every day from noon-12:30 p.m., there is a student who plays it, he said. They are free to play what they please.

Don Cook is a professor in the BYU School of Music and the faculty carillonneur for the Bell Tower.

He said after the carillon was built, there was a shortage of people who knew how to play it. The knowledge passed down from 1975 until 1986, when he was called in to properly train students to play the carillon.

“They learned how to play well. They just really took up the banner and began playing very well until I came … full time on the faculty, and then I’ve been teaching students ever since,” he said.

Having been the university carillonneur for 32 years, Cook continues to educate and train students to do noon recitals.

“The best thing I can do is pass on my love for the carillon and my skills to students and let them do what they can with it and play beautiful music here,” Cook said.

Kelley said when he plays the carillon, he changes shoes, because having narrow shoes helps him use the foot pedals.

“I do it because I love the music. I love the sound of the bells. I love … well, part of it is that I love the novelty. It just isn’t something that very many people get to do,” he said. “I think to some extent, whether people realize it or not, the carillon unifies us in a way that a piano in a practice room isn’t going to do.”

Tischner said the carillon is a big part of the BYU experience.

“I think it’s just iconic. You can see it from different places on campus, and I think people hear it occasionally as they’re outside walking,” he said.