Friends dedicate garden to Vanden Wyngaard

Thanks to a thoughtful alumna, carillon fans can enjoy music amid a peaceful garden setting. Friends and family members dedicated 'de Luisterplaats' in honor of Julianne Vanden Wyngaard on April 25. The garden is near the Cook Carillon Tower; its Dutch name roughly translates to 'the listening place.'

Vanden Wyngaard, Grand Valley's carillonneur and professor of music, has been a faculty member since 1967. It was a former student, Lillian Elsinga, who suggested the university honor Vanden Wyngaard for her years of service and dedication. Elsinga, who graduated from Grand Valley in 1968, contributed the lead gift for the garden.

A bell made of the same bronze as carillon bells highlights the garden. Inscribed in Latin is a verse written by a professor from the Netherlands, where Vanden Wyngaard studied the instrument. His words praise Vanden Wyngaard for her ability to lift the hearts of those listening to her music.
Speaking during the ceremony, Provost Gayle Davis said she enjoys Vanden Wyngaard?s skill at the piano, but is more impressed with her ability to learn the carillon.

'She accepted the challenge of learning a new instrument, and is recognized as one of the nation's leading players of this marvelous instrument,' Davis said.

Vanden Wyngaard began studying the carillon in 1997 and completed diploma requirements at the Netherlands Carillon School in Amersfoort in 2000.