Yale Memorial Carillon, Bell instrument in Harkness Tower at Yale University, United States.
The Yale Memorial Carillon is a bell instrument installed in Harkness Tower, a Gothic-style stone tower on the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut. It holds 54 bells spanning just over four octaves, played from a small cabin near the top of the tower using a keyboard of wooden batons and foot pedals.
Harkness Tower was completed in 1921, and the following year 10 bells arrived as a gift from the Harkness family, who had funded the tower's construction. The number of bells grew significantly in 1964, bringing the total to 54 and making it one of the larger carillons in North America.
The bells are played by students who learn the instrument through a program run at the university itself. Listening from the courtyard below Harkness Tower is one of the most common ways people spend a few minutes on campus.
Harkness Tower sits in the heart of the Yale campus and is easy to spot from the surrounding courtyards and paths. The carillon sounds carry well outdoors, so you do not need to enter the tower to enjoy a performance during the academic year.
The wooden batons that the player strikes to ring the bells look nothing like a piano keyboard and require the player to hit them with closed fists, making it a physically demanding instrument. A student carillonneur can sometimes be seen at work through a small opening near the top of the tower.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
