September 2009 Chapter Program
Tuesday September 15, 2009
An Evening in Byrd Park
at the World War 1 Memorial Carillon
6:00pm
Program Details
- Beverages and Refreshments; Short Business Meeting and Installation of Officers
- Our host, Larry Robinson, a chapter member and past Dean, is the longtime City Carilloner who will play a short demonstration concert for us;
- Picnic Supper in the nearby Pavilion
About The Carillon
Richmond's Memorial to World War I
A Brief History of the Carillon
Between 1924 and 1928, the Virginia General Assembly acted to create a World War Memorial Commission and build a lasting memorial to the heroic efforts of Virginia's World War I servicemen and servicewomen.
The City donated a building site in Byrd Park. The War Memorial Carillon is 240 feet high and The Carillon instrument was built by John Taylor Bell Founders of England.
The Carillon Tower originally carried sixty-six bells, but played fifty-three notes - the top thirteen notes had duplicate bells in an unsuccessful effort to produce a louder sound. When the carillon was renovated in the early 1970's, the thirty-four bells which played the highest twenty-one notes were recast into twenty-one new bells with thicker profiles than the originals, producing a better sound. Now there are fifty-three bells for fifty-three notes.
Carillon concerts are usually played on veteran-related holidays (Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Flag Day and Labor Day) and a spring series of concerts have been funded in the past by the Civic Associations.
About Larry Robinson
Larry Robinson moved to Richmond in the Fall of 1959 to teach organ at the Richmond Professional Institute. In the Summer of 1960 he was invited to assist Wyatt Insko at Dogwood Dell because the carillon was played 3 nights a week for the Dell Summer Programs, a confining obligation for just one person. This experience generated an interest in learning more about the instrument and how to play it, which led to some lessons with Charles Chapman at Luray and James Lawson at the Riverside Church in New York. In 1983 Larry was given the title: "City Carillonneur", in keeping with a centuries-old tradition in the Netherlands. Next summer he will celebrate a 50th anniversary here.
