To quote Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I find this to be especially true of life at Wellesley. I had always heard that at Wellesley College time moves at a different rate than normal time, but I don’t think I really understood what that meant until I got here. I feel like I blink and suddenly it’s Friday and I’ve written two papers, read seven poems, and attended five meetings. It can definitely be a little overwhelming, but I thankfully have found myself some outlets to pause and reflect throughout the week (like writing for this blog)!
This week, I’m reflecting on something that has really brought my Wellesley experience to new heights: the Guild of Carillonneurs!
Before you ask, no, this is not the Wellesley version of the Shriners or the Knights of Columbus. The Guild of Carillonneurs is a musical organization on campus centered around playing the carillon. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the carillon (I certainly wasn’t!) it’s a keyboard operated percussion instrument most commonly found in churches and bell towers! Instead of having someone ring the bells by tugging on ropes, the carillon allows us to play them in a much easier and more musical fashion. At Wellesley, the carillon is located on the highest level of Galen Stone Tower in the Academic Quad!
Galen Stone Tower, via the Wellesley College Website!
Our beautiful practice carillon; unfortunately I have not been around long enough yet to find out whether or not she has a name, but I’m going to keep digging!
The Guild of Carillonneurs definitely isn’t the kind of organization I pictured myself committing my time to back in high school; I had thought I’d be more interested in the higher energy acapella and theatre groups than the students climbing six flights of stairs every couple days to practice pressing their fists down on bell keys for a couple of hours. Trying to pick the piano back up during quarantine was really the thing that made me interested in the guild; I had played for about twelve years before quitting at fifteen, when high school made me too busy to spend a couple extra hours a week practicing. I never realized how much I missed it until I tried to play again and realized I had lost almost all of the easy mobility I used to have. I started playing so young that my fingers will probably always retain their flexibility, and I don’t think the day will ever come when I’ll set my hands on a piano and not fall into proper playing posture, but it was like I had spoken a language since birth and then taken a three year hiatus; I lost a lot of my fluency. I knew what to play and when and how to play it, but I had none of the speed or ease I had before. I started playing before I could read or write; I had no idea how much I loved it until I spent some time away from it.
That’s where the carillon comes in. The carillon is basically a giant piano with less keys. We play with a relaxed fist rather than our fingers, and we use the foot pedals for much more than to soften or sustain a note; they play notes, too! This alone was enough to sell me on it, and everything else was just icing on the cake. Every semester (except this one, for obvious reasons), the guild will go on trips to visit other carillons, hold guild-wide dinners (called “Carillinners”), and, most importantly of all, I’ll get to play Christmas carols on an actual set of bells! It’s kind of the dream scenario for me; music, a close knit group of people who share a love for something very important to me, and a campus wide audience for every concert I give! Not to mention the spooky staircases up to the tower; the first time I went up I felt like a real Nancy Drew, clutching my flashlight in front of me and stepping up into the darkness. On my way down I found the light switches, which might have been a safer way of getting up there but certainly wouldn’t have been as fun.
Tomorrow marks my week anniversary of being an Official Player of the Carillon, and I’ll get to have my second lesson! COVID precautions mean that we need to have as few people as possible in the tower at all times, so my lessons actually occur over Zoom, with me pointing my laptop camera at the keyboard or the pedals so Margaret (the director of the guild) can correct my technique. I’ve sort of quadrupled my required half an hour practice time per week because I’ve been so excited about learning to play, so hopefully that pays off and I have an awesome lesson! Maybe sometime- after a lot more improvement!- I’ll videotape myself playing to add to a post! Better yet- maybe you’ll hear me playing for the campus when you get to Wellesley!
In addition to being a guild apprentice, I’m also an intern for WZLY, Wellesley College Radio. I started my virtual training last night and it’s already super cool, so I can’t even imagine how awesome it’s gonna be when I have the chance to be on the air, broadcasting live to the Wellesley College community.
Slowly but surely I’ve been adjusting to my life in the Wellesley community. Every day I feel a little bit closer to someone, a little more in control of my college experience, and a little more in love with Wellesley than the day before. There are absolutely still moments of sadness and doubt, but they’re becoming fewer and further apart. It’s not home yet, but maybe a little bit of a home-adjacent.
I hope you’re all having a smooth transition to the new school year, whether you’re in person, remote, or somewhere in between! For those of you starting to apply to colleges this year, please let me know in the comments if there’s anything you’d really like to know about Wellesley, or maybe just some part of the experience you’d like me to talk more about. I know this is not an ideal year to be going through this process, and I’m happy to help in any way I can! Maybe next week I’ll post my “Why Wellesley” story to inspire you in the next step of yours. Be warned- it’s a bit of a doozy!
I’ll leave you this week with another photo from the top of the tower- I’m a little obsessed! Think about picking up a long lost hobby this week, or take advantage of an opportunity you would normally pass on. If you’re really lucky, it might lead you to something as incredible as this view!
Sending you joy,
A