UCSB Student Carillon Recital

Students Junyu Deng, Emily O’Mahony, Julia Ong, and Jay Yin from UC Santa Barbara University Carillonist Wesley Arai’s studio will present a recital from the carillon in UC Santa Barbara’s Storke Tower on Sunday, November 21, 2021 at 10 am PT. Listeners are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chair to sit on the grass outside the tower during the recital.

Event Location: Storke Tower (UCSB)

This an in-person event. This event is free and open to the public.

For more event information, visit https://music.ucsb.edu/news/event/2311

Our commitment to your health and safety: Please review the Department of Music’s COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols prior to attending this in-person event; https://music.ucsb.edu/news/covid-19-information

About the Artists:

Junyu Deng is a third-year majoring in Microbiology and Economics, with a minor in Music. Her main instrument is piano but picked up flute, piccolo, and oboe in high school. Currently, Junyu is trying to create more content for her cooking page and train her three rats to do tricks. She knew she wanted to learn the carillon when she first heard it while touring campus and thought it was super cool! Junyu has studied carillon for one year and this is her first quarter performing on the carillon.

Emily O’Mahony is a fourth-year Computer Engineering major from Concord, California. She seized the opportunity to study carillon because, quite frankly, how cool is it to be able to play in a bell tower? Emily’s other musical endeavors include playing the piano and dabbling with other instruments. Aside from music, she’s a big fan of books, dark chocolate, and kickboxing. This is Emily’s third year studying the carillon.

Julia Ong is a second-year chemistry major in the College of Creative Studies and she is from the San Francisco Bay Area. Her main instrument is piano, which she has been playing for more than ten years and performed for recitals and charity concerts. Julia is studying carillon because she wants to explore instruments besides piano to continue her music studies. She is also interested in the history and repertoire of the carillon because it is a unique combination of bells and keyboard. Other musical instruments Julia plays include the recorder and the ukulele. She also enjoys tap dancing, reading fantasy fiction, and playing board games. This is Julia’s first quarter studying the carillon.

Shih-Chieh (Jay) Yin is a third-year biopsychology undergraduate. Jay was born in Taiwan but spent most of his time growing up in Guangdong, China. Aside from playing the carillon, he plays the piano and loves transcribing contemporary music and anime soundtracks for fun. In his free time, Jay also enjoys watching movies and playing board games with his friends. He became fascinated by the carillon after hearing a recital in his first week at UCSB and is grateful for the special opportunity to learn and play the carillon. Jay has studied carillon for one year and this is his first quarter performing on the carillon.

About the Storke Tower Carillon: UC Santa Barbara’s Storke Tower and its carillon were a gift from Thomas Storke, former publisher of the Santa Barbara News-Press. The instrument consists of 61 bells cast by Petit & Fritsen of the Netherlands, with the bells weighing from 18 pounds to 2.5 tons, and spanning five octaves. The UCSB carillon is a much larger modern copy of historical instruments that were invented approximately 500 years ago in the Low Countries of Europe. Tower bells had previously been used for signaling time and for additional signals such as “Close the City Gates”, “Go to church”, and “An enemy is coming.” Eventually, the number of bells was increased and were hooked up to a keyboard to facilitate the performance of music. A melody was often played to attract the attention of the townspeople before the hour bell tolled the time throughout the day. A carillon is played with the fists and feet, and the action is completely mechanical. To vary the dynamics of the music, the performer must strike the key harder or use a lighter touch, much like a piano. The UC Santa Barbara carillon celebrated its 50th birthday in 2019.