2023 Summer Carillon Concert Series
TUESDAY, MAY 30 at 7:00 PM
John Widmann, Joseph Dill Baker Carillon , Frederick, Maryland
PROGRAM
Jef Denyn (1862-1941): Prelude in d-minor “unwritten”
Original Carillon Compositions
Naoto Ohmasa (b.1954): Dream for Carillon
John Widmann (b.1963): Fantasy on “Ave maris stella”
For the Ukraine
Ukrainian Folk Song, arr. Iryna Riabchun: Marigolds
Mykhailo Verbytsky (1815-1870), arr. Iryna Riabchun: Ukraine National Anthem
European Transcriptions
Flor Peeters (1903-1986), arr. John Widmann: Aria, Op. 51 for organ
Gabriël Fauré (1845-1924) arr. Midori Conneman: Après un Rêve, Op. 7, No. 1
Popular Tunes
The Doors, arr. John Widmann: Riders on the Storm
James Hetfield (b.1963), arr. Ana Elias and Eddy Mariën: Nothing Else Matters
Jef Rottiers (1904-1985): Ballade
John Stafford Smith (1750-1836), arr. Gordon Slater: The Star Spangled Banner
John Widmann is the City Carillonneur for the City of Frederick, Maryland, where he plays recitals every Sunday at 12:30, year round, on the Joseph Dill Baker Carillon in Baker Park. He has now held that position for thirty years. Mr. Widmann graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and completed his Master of Music degree from Towson University in 2011. In 2021-2022, Mr. Widmann studied for his diploma at the Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn” in Mechelen, Belgium. In addition to his Sunday recitals, he retired in 2021 from Frederick County Public Schools where he was a General/Vocal Music teacher. He is also the Organist and Choir Master for St. Francis Episcopal Church in Potomac, Maryland. Mr. Widmann became a Carillonneur member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America in 1996, and is a past member of the National Board of that organization. He maintains an active concert schedule, and has played frequently in the U.S., along with recitals in Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, England, Canada, and the Netherlands Antilles. He lives in Frederick with his wife and sometimes their two grown children.
SCHEDULE CHANGE - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28 at 7:00 PM
Margaret Pan, Boston, Massachusetts
PROGRAM
Ronald Barnes (1927-1997): Capriccio 3
Old Hymns in New Settings
Roy Hamlin Johnson (1929-2020): Chartres
John Courter (1941-2010): Rilke Fantasie
Two Landscapes
Caspian Scott (b.2002): Idle Spires (premiere performance - the winning composition of 2022 ISU Carillon Composition Competition)
Ellen Lindquist (b.1970): The Sacredness of Trees
An Old Song and A New Song
Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677), arr. Jennifer Lory-Moran: Che si puo fare
Geert D'hollander (b.1965): Canzona
From the Sesamuppets Suite, arr. Sally Slade Warner: I Love Trash and The Rainbow Connection
Margaret Pan is a freelance carillonneur based in Boston. She began studying carillon in 2007 at Princeton University, graduated from the Mechelen carillon school in 2012, and was a fellow at Bok Tower Gardens in 2015. Margaret was a finalist in the 2019 Queen Fabiola competition in Mechelen and winner of the 2017 international competition in Springfield, Illinois. She has played recitals across Europe and North America, including for festivals and congresses of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) and the World Carillon Federation. She has served on the exam committee of the GCNA for over a decade, first as juror and currently as co-chair. Margaret's academic degrees (SB and PhD) are in physics and astrophysics and she works as an astronomer studying planetary dynamics in our and other solar systems.
TUESDAY, JULY 25 at 7:00 PM
Jim Fackenthal, St. Chrysostom’s Church, Chicago, Illinois
PROGRAM
Matthais van den Gheyn (1721-1785), arr. Leen 't Hart: Suite I pour le Clavecin (Andante - Menuetto I - Menuetto II - Vivace)
Ennis Fruhauf (b.1944): Jubilate for carillon (Sonata - Aria e Fugato - Rondo)
Frank DellaPenna (b.1951): Three Pieces (Destine - The Bronze Waltz - Path of the Sun)
Scottish Folk Melody Settings
arr. Ronald Barnes: We’ll Meet by the Dusky Glen
arr. John Knox: John Anderson, My Jo and My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose
arr. Sally Slade Warner: Ye Banks and Braes o’ Bonnie Doon
Jim Fackenthal began carillon studies at The University of Rochester with David Caldwell in the mid 1980s, then passed the carillonneur’s exam in Ottawa in 1986. He played the two carillons in Bloomington, Indiana, for seven years, then moved to Chicago 1993, where he became the assistant/associate carillonneur at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. He is now a cancer researcher and Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Benedictine University, performs carillon recitals throughout the United States, serves as Carillonneur at St. Chrysostom’s Church in Chicago, and serves on the carillon performance team for the Naperville Park District. As a member of the GCNA, Fackenthal has served in several capacities, including examination juror, board member, Associate Carillonneur Exam Committee chair, and co-editor of the newsletter “Carillon News.”
TUESDAY, AUGUST 29 at 7:00 PM
David Christensen, University of California, Riverside, California
PROGRAM
Filippo Gragnani (1740-1800): Sonatine
English Folk Tune, arr. David Christensen: Kingsfold
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), arr. David Christensen: Selections from Messiah - And the Glory of the Lord, How Beautiful Are the Feet of Them, and Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates
Erik Satie (1866-1925), arr. David Christensen: Gymnopedie No. 1
Jean-Baptiste Besard (1567-1625), arr. Ronald Barnes: The Clocks of Paris
Folk Songs
arr. Robert Giracello: Bahay Kubo (Philippines)
arr. Sally Slade Warner: Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon (Scotland)
From Stage and Screen
Harold Arlen (1905-1986): Stormy Weather
Jerome Kern (1885-1945): Can't Help Lovin' That Man
Harvey Schmidt (1929-2018): Try to Remember the Kind of September
Matthias Van den Gheyn (1721-1785): Allegro in G Major, No. 2
David Christensen graduated magna cum laude from the University of Redlands in Southern California. He has been University Carillonneur at the University of California, Riverside since 1987. Mr. Christensen is also currently Music Director at Eden Lutheran Church in Riverside, and organist at First Church of Christ Scientist in Riverside. He has performed carillon recitals throughout the United States and Canada including Princeton University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of Toronto, UC Santa Barbara, Mayo Clinic, Arlington National Cemetery, and other locations. His arrangements for carillon, choir, handbells, and organ are published by the Kenwood Abbey Press, Wayne Leupold Publications, The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, the Lorenz Corporation, and some are available for digital download on Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.