When Buck Lyon-Vaiden arrived at McDonogh to teach German in 1971, Tagart Chapel had a 10-bell chime that was cast in Baltimore in 1898. In a 2012 article in Amerika Woche, a German-language newspaper, Lyon-Vaiden recalled that the chime did not do justice to the beautiful, historic chapel in its bucolic country setting, and he began to dream of replacing it with a carillon, a cast instrument of at least 23 chromatic bells.
During a conversation in May 1976, Lyon-Vaiden and trustee H. Beale Rollins (1915) spoke about the tower and the fond memories chiming bells evoke. Following the conversation, Lyon-Vaiden took steps to generate more interest in a carillon by teaching a group of students to play the 10-bell chime. He took them on short trips to see carillons located in Frederick, MD, Washington, DC, and Valley Forge, PA, and arranged for a traveling carillon—an instrument of 35 bells mounted on a trailer—to visit McDonogh. Following a performance on the traveling carillon at the 1977 Commencement Ceremony, the McDonogh community became convinced of the merit of installing a carillon in the chapel tower. Rollins and his wife agreed to be the benefactors of the entire project, which included the renovation of the tower and the installation of a 48-bell Dutch carillon.
In the spring of 1978, the bells were cast and tuned in the Netherlands by the Petit and Fritsen Foundry which dates back to 1660. They were then shipped across the Atlantic through the St. Lawrence Seaway to the I. T. Verdin Company in Cincinnati, OH, where they were disassembled for transport to McDonogh. In October 1978, the bells arrived on two trucks and were installed in the tower over a period of two weeks. Today, the McDonogh carillon is one of approximately 180 carillons in North America. It has 48 bells, ranging in weight from 24 pounds to 1.6 tons, with a total weight of more than 9.5 tons.
The cast bronze bells are connected with mechanical wires to a keyboard and a pedalboard. The keyboard is similar to that of a piano; it is split into two rows of spindle-like wooden keys that are struck by half-closed fists. The pedalboard, similar to that of an organ, controls the two lowest octaves. Additionally, there is a practice keyboard in the bell tower that is attached to a set of tuned bars, similar to a xylophone.
Throughout the year, the carillon chimes the Westminster Quarters and Hours. When school or camp is in session, 23 bells are programmed to play a hymn or familiar tune every weekday in the morning and again in the afternoon. Lyon-Vaiden continues to play for many events during the school year, including Dedication Day, the Alumni Memorial Service, Head of School Day, and Commencement. On Friday evenings in July, McDonogh hosts a Carillion Concert series featuring carillonneurs from across the globe. In December, Lyon-Vaiden gives a concert of winter/holiday music. The 2023 concert will be on Sunday, December 17 at 3:00 p.m. Guests may enjoy the concert from their car, bring a chair and sit outside of Tagart Chapel, or sit inside. The concert will also be livestreamed via: mcdonogh.org/carillon.
