Kniker Carillon

*Location:

   Main Building
   The University of Texas
   campus center
   (E.23rd St at University Ave.)
   Austin, Texas, USA
   LL: N 30.28622, W 97.73946

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   (unknown)

   Thomas W. Anderson   (d.)
   2013-15 Austin Ferguson   (A)

*Contact:

   Vice President for Student Affairs
   University of Texas
   Austin, TX  78712
   T: 512-471-1133

*Schedule:

   Mon,Wed,Fri 1250-1300

*Remarks:

   Original keyboard -Y36:CC/CE, with
   bells connected to C,D,E chrom. to F,G.
   Electric keyboard was used in 1980s.
   Rehung, with new transmission, 2012-13.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 56 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is A# in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     A#G   /    A#C 25
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   There are two missing bass semitones
   There is an identical practice console
   The instrument was enlarged in 1987
     with 39 bells made by Petit & Fritsen
   Prior history:
     In 1936, the instrument was begun with 17 bells
       by Meneely/Wvlt
       (17 bells remain from that work.)
       Keyboard range was:     C G  */    C E   
       Transposition was down 2 semitone(s), i.e., from C to A#
   Auxiliary mechanisms: IQ4H  
   Tower details: 
     Height of console:                 80 meters above ground
     Height of lowest level of bells:   84 meters above ground
     Height of highest level of bells:  89 meters above ground
     Belfry openness:  90%
   Year of latest technical information source is 1991

Appreciation for the late Tom Anderson
Obituary, with video & photos

A Waymarking page for these bells has 3 photos of the building plus two of the dedicatory plaque.

A news article (Apr.2013) on the restoration incorrectly asserts that the bells were recast.

Video report of the work reports rehanging the bells and renovating the action.  The text of the video is the article.

A drawing of the tower of Main Building is part of a logo on the home page of the UT Website, and appears numerous other places.
On the day when the Webpage you are now reading was first linked to the UT Website, a featured page there was on the Darkening of the Tower in memory of those who were slain in that vicinity 33 years earlier.  The tower also appears reflected in the pond of Tower Garden, dedicated as a memorial on the same day.
Numerous references to the carillon are available through the internal search engine on the UT Website. The most relevant ones can be found from the following starting points:
+ An index to news articles about the Main Building points to many which have the carillon as subject.  Some of these are quite old, and bring out the history of the instrument and its players.
+ A set of pages about the Main Building starts with a sketch of the tower and surrounding building from an aerial viewpoint.
+ The most complete pages are perhaps a 1987 news article on the expansion from a chime to a carillon, and a very large photo-filled page on the playing and history of the carillon.

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Meneely (Watervliet) bellfoundry.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Petit & Fritsen bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by weight.
Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all North American concert class carillons by year of completion.

Other concert carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

Index to all traditional carillons in TX.

Index to all tower bell instruments in TX.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2018/09/10
   and on technical data last updated on 1992/07/17