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Plumb Carillon
The Plumb Carillon is Trinity College Chapel's carillon, an instrument played on a keyboard that sounds a set of at least 23 bells. Trinity's consists of 49 bells, and is responsible for the hourly bell ringing heard around campus, as well as for providing the music for a host of concerts and events. It is one of around 200 of these instruments in North America.
The carillon was donated to the school in 1927, at this point consisting of just 30 bells. It was gifted by the Reverend and Mrs. John F. Plumb in honor of their son, John Landon Plumb, a member of the class of 1926, who died during his senior year. The largest bell of the instrument, called the bourdon and weighing around 5,600 pounds, bears his memorial alongside a Latin inscription that reads, “O go your way into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.”
The bells themselves were installed in the chapel's tower in 1932. In 1973, the school received $25,000 following the death of Hartford resident Florence Crofut. Crofut had been described as a fan of campanology (the practice of ringing bells), and left behind this money specifically for Trinity to expand its carillon. Nineteen new bells were added to the Plumb Carillon in 1978, bringing the number of total bells to 49. This addition expanded the instrument's playing ability, allowing it to cover four and a half octaves rather than the three and a half that had been covered before the additions.
The bells are played by Trinity College's carillonneur, as well as students trained to be carillonneur members. One of the very first Trinity carillonneurs was President Ogilby. In 1934, he had invited other carillonneurs from across the United States and Canada to Trinity for a meeting. This meeting is now recognized as the first congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, of which current Trinity carillonneur Ellen Dickinson is a member.
Beginning in 1950 and continuing today, the instrument is featured in Trinity's annual Summer Carillon Concert Series, where attendees gather on the main quad to hear carillonneurs from all over the world play the Plumb Carillon.