Fans of carillon music will have a rare opportunity to hear music performed four-hands on the instrument when the Groningen Carillon Duo appears at the University of Rochester at 7 p.m. Monday, July 25. The concert is part of the Hopeman Memorial Carillon Summer Recital Series sponsored by the Department of Music.
Members of the Groningen Duo, who were appointed as city carillonneurs in the Dutch city of Groningen in 2002, are Auke de Boer and Adolph Rots. Their program will highlight the versatility of the carillon, featuring Baroque music by Domenico Scarlatti and J.C. Bach, classical works by Joseph Haydn, marches by Franz Schubert and John Philip Sousa, and popular American tunes.
The University of Rochester’s Hopeman Memorial Carillon, an instrument of bells connected to a keyboard, is located in the landmark tower of Rush Rhees Library on the River Campus. It is one of only six carillons in New York State and contains 50 bells that were imported from Holland. Its total weight is 6,668 pounds. Concertgoers can sit anywhere on the Eastman Quadrangle in front of the library to enjoy the music.
Rots studied music at the Utrecht Conservatorium and the Netherlands Carillon School, has published several articles on bells and organs, and teaches music pedagogy. De Boer, who performed solo on the Hopeman Memorial Carillon in 2002, studied carillon, organ, conducting, and church music. He also teaches and is the city carillonneur of Dokkum. The duo has toured in Denmark, Belgium, France, and the United States.
For more information, contact (585) 275-2828.