Bok Tower Gardens > International Carillon Festival at Bok Tower Gardens

International Carillon Festival at Bok Tower Gardens

Buy Tickets

From March 3-11, world-renowned carillonneurs will perform daily concerts. The Visitor Center features historical exhibits on the history, construction and sound of the carillon from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Other Activities

All programs are included with daily admission unless an additional fee noted. Members receive a 10% discount.

Performance Schedule

Saturday, March 3
11 a.m. – Malgosia Fiebig, 1 p.m. – Geert D’hollander, 3 p.m. – Sue Bergren

Sunday, March 4
11 a.m. – George Gregory, 1 p.m. – Malgosia Fiebig, 3 p.m. – Geert D’hollander

Monday, March 5
1 p.m. – Sue Bergren, 3 p.m. – George Gregory and Julianne Vanden Wyngaard

Tuesday, March 6
1 p.m. – Malgosia Fiebig, 3 p.m. – Dennis Curry, 7:30 p.m. – Geert D’hollander

Wednesday, March 7
1 p.m. – Dennis Curry, 3 p.m. – Geert D’hollander

Thursday, March 8
1 p.m. – Malgosia Fiebig, 3 p.m. – Dennis Curry

Friday, March 9
1 p.m. – Sue Bergren, 3 p.m. – George Gregory and Julianne Vanden Wyngaard

Saturday, March 10
11 a.m. – George Gregory, 1 p.m. – Sue Bergren, 3 p.m. – Malgosia Fiebig

Sunday, March 11
11 a.m. – Geert D’hollander, 1 p.m. – George Gregory, 3 p.m. – Dennis Curry

Read the music program

About the Carillonneurs

Geert D’hollander’s many areas of musical study in Belgium include piano, chamber music, choral and orchestral conducting , fugue and composition at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, and carillon at the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen. He was first prize winner in about 30 international competitions for carillon and/or composition. In 2008 he was awarded the University of California Berkeley Medal for “Distinguished Service to the Carillon”. Last year he won the prestigious Dutch “ANV-Visser Neerlandia Prize” with his carillon composition “Ciacona”.

In 1997 he succeeded Ronald Barnes as University Carillonist and Professor of Carillon at the Department of Music at UC Berkeley (California).

Currently, he is the carillon composition teacher at the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen and a guest carillon teacher at the Dutch Carillon School (Amersfoort) and at ‘Roosevelt Academy’(Middelburg), both in The Netherlands. He frequently gives master classes in Europe and the USA.

As fulltime carillonneur of Antwerp Cathedral, the belfries of Ghent & St. Nicolas and the Basilica of Lier, D’hollander performs about 400 recitals per year, and serves on the board of directors of the Flemish Carillon Society.

This is Geert D’hollander’s fifth appearance at our International Carillon Festival.

Malgosia Fiebig studied at the Music Academy of Gdansk, Poland, where she earned a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance and Choral Conducting. Following this she took a carillon course in 1999 by Gert Oldenbeuving, and became the first carillonneur of St. Catherine’s Church in Gdansk after its 60 years of silence. In 2001 she was appointed to a second carillon position at the City Hall Tower in the heart of Gdansk.

In 2004 she moved to the Netherlands to study at the Dutch Carillon School. She received a Bachelor of Music degree in Carillon Performance with Arie Abbenes, and a Master of Music degree in Carillon Performance degree in 2007 under Frans Haagen and Henk Verhoef.

Her brilliant technique and musicality has won her several first prizes at international carillon competitions. She has given many concerts in Europe and the US.

In 2011 Malgosia received the prestigious appointments of city carillonneur of Utrecht and Nijmegen.

This is Malgosia Fiebig’s first appearance in our International Carillon Festivals.

Follow Malgosia Fiebig on Twitter: @MalgosiaFiebig

George Gregory has been organist and carillonneur at Central Christian Church in San Antonio, Texas, since 1958.

Mr. Gregory has been an active member in The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America,for many years, having served on the Student Examinations Committee, the Board of Directors, and as Editor of the Guild’s scholarly journal, Bulletin.

He has played carillon recitals throughout the United States, and in Canada, England, and Denmark.

He received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Tulsa and the Master of Music degree from The University of Texas at Austin. For 39 years, he was Professor of Music at San Antonio College, where he taught organ, cello, harp, music theory and Renaissance instruments.

Honors include receiving the Berkeley Medal for “Distinguished Service to the Carillon”, and Honorary Membership in The Guild.

This is Mr. Gregory’s second appearance at our International Carillon Festivals.

Sue Bergren is an assistant carillonneur at the Millennium Carillon in Naperville, IL. She studied carillon with Wylie Crawford and Karel Keldermans, and became a Carillonneur member of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) in 2004. She currently serves the guild as co-editor for Carillon News, the GCNA’s newsletter, was recently elected to the organization’s Board of Directors, and is music editor and owner of American Carillon Music Editions (ACME), a publishing company of carillon music. She has a Master’s degree in Organ Performance from Northern Illinois University and is on staff at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Naperville as the organist for the Saturday Evening worship service. She is active as a carillon recitalist, plays regularly on the Naperville Millennium Carillon and gives weekly recitals on the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon at the University of Chicago.

This is Sue Bergren’s first appearance at our International Carillon Festivals.

Julianne Vanden Wyngaard is a native of Grand Rapids Michigan, Julianne began her musical study at age 4 and continued in piano at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Michigan State University. She was a noted concert pianist when she joined the faculty at Grand Valley State University in 1967 where her work included piano studio teaching and management of the Arts at Noon Series. She served the department as Chair for twelve years and completed her full-time work at GVSU as Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2005.

Vanden Wyngaard began her carillon study in 1994 and was accepted as a student at the Netherlands Carillon School in Amersfoort where she studied with Todd Fair and Bernard Winsemius. In 1999 she qualified as a Carillonneur member of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America and received the First Diploma in 2000 from the NCS in Amersfoort. Since that time, she has been the principal performer on the two carillons at Grand Valley State University where she also presents a summer concert series on each campus featuring guest carillonneurs from around the world. This is her first appearance at our International Carillon Festival.

Dennis Curry is Carillonneur and Associate Music Director at Kirk in the Hills, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. His carillon studies began with Dr. Frederick Marriott, and he advanced to Carillonneur member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) in 1989. President of the GCNA for 6 years, Dennis has also served on the Board of Directors and as juror on the Guild’s Student Examination Committee. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the World Carillon Federation (WCF), serving as its Treasurer and Vice-President. In 2001 with the support of the Kirk, he hosted the 59th Congress of the GCNA, which honored the centennials of Percival Price and Frederick Marriott. He supervised the formation of the Marriott Memorial Library and the complete renovation of the Kirk carillon – the world’s largest (77 bells). In 2011, he hosted the WCF World Congress, celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the GCNA – which was the largest gathering of carillonneurs in history.

A carillon recitalist in the USA, Europe and Asia, Dennis has also performed in several prestigious international carillon festivals – Springfield (2002), Historic Bok Tower & Sanctuary (2003), Løgumkloster (2007), and Centralia (2002/2009). His other musical endeavors have included Section Leader for the Detroit Symphony Chorale & Chorus, President of the Kenneth Jewell Chorale, and appearances as organist and vocalist at area churches and synagogues. He retired from Ford Motor Company after 38 years as Regional Manager for Environmental & Safety Engineering in Eastern/Central Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa. He is now consulting as the global regulatory strategist for Navistar International.

Other Carillon Festival Activities

Hidden Garden Melodies

March 3, 4, 10, 11 from noon – 4 p.m.
Enjoy Belgian, Polish and American-inspired music selections as you explore the Gardens.

Curtis On Tour

Sunday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Founded by Edward Bok’s wife, Mary Louise Curtis Bok, musicians from the Curtis Institute of Music will return for the first time in 80 years to perform Paganini’s last guitar quartet and other selections. $25 per person.

Lunch & Learn

Monday – Friday, March 5 – 9 from noon – 1:30 p.m.
Bring a picnic lunch to attend guided tours of the Singing Tower exterior highlighting its history, artistry, architecture and construction.

Moonlight Concert and Mix & Mingle Reception

Tuesday, March 6. Concert at 7:30 p.m. Reception at 8:30 p.m.
Celebrate one of the nation’s most unique musical experiences with a Moonlight Concert and reception to meet the guest carillonneurs. $25 per person.

Carillon Film Series

Tuesday – Friday, March 6 – 9 at 10 a.m.
View educational films about bell foundry, casting, tuning and the history of the carillon.