Tonight the carillon bells at Brigham Young University will ring out for America.
As part of America's Freedom Festival at Provo, the BYU music department will present a Carillon Tower Concert at 7 p.m. The concert will feature patriotic music that begins with colonial America, continues through the 19th century and culminates with Appalachian white spirituals.The free performance will last approximately one hour, and good listening vantage points are the grassy areas around the tower, near the Marriott Center and near the Harris Fine Arts Center and Smoot Administration Building. Those attending are welcome to bring blankets or chairs, or simply to sit on the grass.
The concert will begin with "Yankee Doodle," the popular 18th-century tune that became the battle song of the American Revolution, and peal its way through to John Phillip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever."
Russell Sorenson, carillonneur, believes the addition of the bell concert to the 1990 activities is an appropriate part of the festival.
"Ever since the Liberty Bell cracked, bells have been associated as a symbol for freedom," he said. "We will ring that spirit for the Provo festival with music based on patriotic and familiar folk tunes."
Sorenson brings 26,000 pounds of bronze to life from his perch at a large mechanical keyboard in the tower, directly beneath the bells.