Carillon bells ring on Christmas Eve

Grand Valley State University's downtown Grand Rapids carillon will fill the air with the sound of bells in a special holiday concert on Christmas Eve.

Songs of the season will begin at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 24, on the Beckering Family Carillon, located on Grand Valley's Pew Campus at 401 W. Fulton St. The 45-minute concert will be performed by members of the Carillon Collaborative, a group of local carillonneurs who regularly perform on Grand Valley's two carillons.

The same holiday concert will be performed by University Carillonneur Julianne Vanden Wyngaard on Sunday, December 21, at 12:15 p.m., on the downtown campus carillon.

The 48 bells of the 151-foot carillon tower can be heard for many blocks in downtown Grand Rapids. Listeners are welcome to gather at the tower's base, walk the paths of the campus, or listen from their cars in the DeVos Center parking lot off Winter Avenue. The Christmas Eve concert has become a tradition since the carillon was installed in 2000.

All carillon concerts are free of charge. For more information call the GVSU Music Department at 331-3484.