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Congresses

The GCNA holds an annual Congress in June, at a different location each year, lasting about four days.  A Congress site will have at least one large carillon for recitals and may include one or more other carillons which are nearby.  Congresses include business meetings, recitals by invited artists, and formal and informal gatherings.  As part of the process of becoming a Carillonneur Member of the Guild, candidates must play an advancement recital which is judged by an advancement committee.  If the committee and the voting membership approve, the candidate is admitted to Carillonneur membership.

Associated with the annual Congress, there is often a pre-Congress and/or post-Congress day with various informal (and optional) activities, typically including visits to nearby carillons or other places of interest that were not included in the formal Congress schedule.

Regional gatherings are sometimes organized by local carillonneurs.  Official business is not conducted at such meetings.

Membership in the Guild is not required for attendance at official or unofficial gatherings.  However, announcements of the details of such gatherings are usually distributed only to members, and all attendees are expected to pay whatever registration fees may be involved.

Future Congresses

The 2011 GCNA Congress will be held in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, at the Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church, with some activities at the other carillons in this city and state.  This Congress will be held jointly with the 2011 WCF Congress in late June; see the Events page for further details.

The 2012 GCNA Congress will be held in Clemson, South Carolina, at Clemson University.

The Guild welcomes invitations from places which would like to host a Congress in a future year.  To explore the possibility of doing that, please contact the President of the Guild.

Past Congresses

The first gathering of North American carillonneurs was held at Hartford in 1934.  It laid the groundwork for the GCNA, which came into existence at the second such gathering, held in Ottawa in 1936.  Congresses have been held annually since 1946.  All are listed below.

In the First Bulletin, published in 1940, the meetings of 1934, 1936 and 1939 were referred to as the First, Second and Third Congresses of Carillonneurs in North America.  Following World War II, there was a period of time when annual congresses of the Guild were simply identified by the year in which they were held.  Current practice, which is followed in the list below, numbers the congresses with respect to the founding of the Guild.

Roman numerals following a location indicate that more than one congress has been held at that location.  Dates are included when known.

It is common to visit other carillons in the vicinity during a congress; those are not listed.  When more than one location is listed, each served as an official host for part of the Congress.

  • 1934--Hartford, Connecticut; Trinity College (I); Sept. (Pre-GCNA meeting)
  1. 1936--Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Houses of Parliament (I); Sept. (GCNA founded)
  2. 1939--New York, New York; Riverside Church; August
  3. 1942--Wellesley, Massachusetts; Wellesley College (I)
  4. 1946--Princeton, New Jersey; Princeton University (I)
  5. 1947--Luray, Virginia; Luray Singing Tower; Aug. 25-27
  6. 1948--Ann Arbor, Michigan; University of Michigan (I); June 14-16
  7. 1949--Springfield, Massachusetts; Trinity United Methodist Church; June 20-22
  8. 1950--Albany, New York; City Hall (I); June 19-21
  9. 1951--Niagara Falls and Hamilton, Ontario; Rainbow Bridge and Cathedral of Christ the King; June 25-27
  10. 1952--Mariemont, Ohio; Emery Memorial Carillon (I); June 23-25
  11. 1953--Chicago, Illinois and Culver, Indiana; University of Chicago (I) and Culver Military Academy (I); June 21-24
  12. 1954--Wellesley, Massachusetts (II); Wellesley College; June 21-23
  13. 1955--Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Houses of Parliament (II)
  14. 1956--Lawrence, Kansas; University of Kansas (I)
  15. 1957--Cleveland Heights, Ohio; Church of the Savior and St. Paul's Church; June 16-19
  16. 1958--Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Washington Memorial Carillon (I); June 22-25
  17. 1959--Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Christ Church Cranbrook (I); Aug. 23-26
  18. 1960--Jackson and Sewanee, Tennessee; 1st Presbyterian Church and University of the South; June 19-22
  19. 1961--Culver, Indiana; Culver Military Academy (II); June 18-21
  20. 1962--Ann Arbor, Michigan; University of Michigan (II); June 17-20
  21. 1963--Saint Paul, Minnesota; House of Hope Presbyterian Church
  22. 1964--Washington, D.C.; Washington Cathedral (I)
  23. 1965--Ames, Iowa; Iowa State University (I); June 13-16
  24. 1966--Princeton, New Jersey; Princeton University (II); June 19-22
  25. 1967--Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Houses of Parliament (III); Aug. 28-30
  26. 1968--Lake Wales, Florida; Mountain Lake Sanctuary (I); June 16-19
  27. 1969--New Haven, Connecticut; Yale University; June 22-25
  28. 1970--Spokane, Washington; Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist; June 28- July 1
  29. 1971--Springfield, Illinois; Rees Memorial Carillon (I); June 20-23
  30. 1972--Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Metropolitan United Church and The University of Toronto; June 18-21
  31. 1973--Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana: Scottish Rite Cathedral and Indiana University; June 17-21
  32. 1974--Mariemont, Ohio; Emery Memorial Carillon (II); June 23-26
  33. 1975--Riverside and Santa Barbara, California; UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara; June 15-18
  34. 1976--Valley Forge, Fort Washington, and Holland, Pennsylvania; Washington Memorial Carillon (II), St. Thomas Church Whitemarsh, Trinity United Methodist Church; June 14-17
  35. 1977--Chicago, Illinois; St. Chrysostom's Church and University of Chicago (II); June 23-26
  36. 1978--Bloomfield Hills and Ann Arbor, Michigan; Christ Church Cranbrook (II) and University of Michigan (III) Michigan; June 15-20
  37. 1979--Lake Wales, Florida; Mountain Lake Sanctuary (II); June 17-22
  38. 1980--Ames and Cedar Falls, Iowa; Iowa State University (II) and University of Northern Iowa; June 20-24.
  39. 1981--Rochester, Minnesota; Mayo Clinic; June 22-26
  40. 1982--Hartford, Connecticut; Trinity College (II); June 22-25
  41. 1983--San Antonio and Corpus Christi, Texas; Central Christian and First Baptist Churches; June 19-23
  42. 1984--Madison, Wisconsin; University of Wisconsin, June 18-22
  43. 1985--Culver, Indiana; Culver Military Academy (III); June 10-13
  44. 1986--Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Houses of Parliament (IV); July 10-13
  45. 1987--Springfield, Illinois; Rees Memorial Carillon (II); June 22-25
  46. 1988--Berkeley, California; University of California at Berkeley (I); June 6-10
  47. 1989--Albany, New York; City Hall (II); June 23-27
  48. 1990--Washington, D.C.; Washington Cathedral (II); June 24-27
  49. 1991--Waco, Texas; Baylor University; June 27-July 1
  50. 1992--Dayton, Ohio; Deeds Memorial Carillon; June 12-16
  51. 1993--Lincoln, Nebraska; First-Plymouth Congregational Church
  52. 1994--Provo, Utah; Brigham Young University
  53. 1995--Princeton, New Jersey; Princeton University (III); June 21-25
  54. 1996--Cohasset, Massachusetts; St. Stephen's Church; June 24-28
  55. 1997--Lawrence, Kansas; University of Kansas; June 4-7
  56. 1998--Berkeley, California; University of California at Berkeley (II); June 17-20
  57. 1999--Ames, Iowa; Iowa State University (III); June 16-19
  58. 2000--Frederick, Maryland and Mercersburg, Pennsylvania; The Joseph Dill Baker Carillon and Mercersburg Academy; June 25-28
  59. 2001--Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Kirk-in-the-Hills; June 23-26
  60. 2002--Ann Arbor, Michigan; University of Michigan; June 26-29
  61. 2003--Berea, Kentucky; Berea College; June 17-20
  62. 2004--Culver, Indiana; The Culver Academies; June 7-10
  63. 2005--Grand Rapids, Michigan; Grand Valley State University
  64. 2006--New Haven, Connecticut; Yale University; June 20-23
  65. 2007--Sewanee, Tennessee; University of the South (II); June 18-21
  66. 2008--Berkeley, California; University of California at Berkeley (III), June 10-13
  67. 2009--Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; Longwood Gardens, June 22-25
  68. 2010--Naperville, Illinois; The Millennium Carillon, June 14-17