June 19, 2019
Simone Browne, AB’19, member of the University of Chicago Guild of Carillonneurs, passed her professional examination at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida last week. Under the guidance of Rockefeller Chapel's Joey Brink, Simone performed in front of more than a hundred carillonneurs from around the world gathered for the 77th Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA).
Her program included selections by Milford Myhre, Liesbeth Janssens, Alice Gomez, and John Knox. Before receiving the invitation to perform at the Congress, a jury of six listened to recordings of her playing on the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon over the last year. Simone is the only UChicago student to achieve professional status in the last five years and is one of the only UChicago students ever to be awarded this title.
The purpose of the Guild examination is to certify and acknowledge performance proficiency, including excellence in musicianship and carillon technique.
More information about the Rockefeller Chapel carillon may be found at http://rockefeller.uchicago.edu/the-carillon.