Life Inside the Tower

The Belmont Bell Tower from the Beaman patio, Braden Simmons

When googling Belmont, one of the first images that comes up is the Bell Tower. 

It’s not surprising given that it’s one of the most recognizable buildings on campus. 

Whether it's walking under its shadow at the end of welcome week, hearing the tolls on the hour or hearing a beautiful classical piece play out on Christmas, the tower is associated with the campus. 

It’s acted as the soundtrack for campus. 

The carillon and the bells found within the tower create the magic. 

Richard Shadinger, plays a song on the carillon in the Bell Tower, Braden Simmons

The original bell ringer - Richard Shadinger 

One of the original and still current players of the Bell Tower is Richard Shadinger. 

Shadinger has been at Belmont since the bells were originally brought in and hoisted to the top of the tower in 1986. 

He was the first to learn to play the instrument and has been teaching others ever since. 

“I volunteered to do it, but I didn't know anything about it, and so I had to practice and learn,” he said. “I was just playing easy pieces that I could do.” 

Shadinger has taught classes in music history, piano and even a class in playing the carillon for several years.  

He retired in 2018 from being a full-time professor but has continued in his new role as a professor emeritus and the unofficial historian of the Bell Tower. 

The Bell Tower, for better or worse, has been Shadinger’s claim to fame on campus and has been something that he has enjoyed sharing with his students and really anyone who stumbles into the tower or wants to hear about its history. 

“Sometimes because people know that, they don't think I do anything else. It kind of sticks out as being different,” he said. “The tower is the symbol of university, so I think it's important for people to hear it and to recognize the significance of having a carillon.”  

The carillon is the instrument that strikes the bells at the top of the tower. It’s set up in a similar method to a piano but has bars, rather than keys, that are attached to a pulley system to the strikers of the bells. 

“It's an interesting instrument because there’s not many successful outdoor instruments,” he said. “The bells are big enough and loud enough that they will carry some distance.” 

The carillon makes for a performance that is both the most public and most private because everyone can hear the bells, but no one can see who is playing them. 

But they could if they wanted to. 

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, morning at 10 Shadinger leaves the door unlocked while he's performing. 

“I like to show people around up here. If anybody shows some interest. I'm glad to bring them up here and show them how it works,” he said. “I often play during the 10 o'clock hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I leave the door unlocked If anybody wants to come up here and see what's going on.” 

Whether through attending a faculty book club or attending a Belmont basketball game Shadinger attempts to emulate the Bell Tower by being a central figure in the Belmont community. 

“I've continued to come to events that interest me, concerts, particularly, and basketball games and things,” he said. “I'll still be around, like always.” 

The automated mechanism that strikes the bells on the hour every hour during the day, Braden Simmons

The protégés - Gabriel Johnson and Madelynn Miller 

This semester two students are taking Shadinger’s elective class in the Bell Tower to learn and play the carillon. 

Gabriel Johnson a junior audio engineering technology student found out about the class through a tour he took at Belmont and has been one of the students taking the class this semester. 

Part of the intrigue for Johnson was the rareness of a carillon, especially one that students can go practice and play. 

“There weren't that many people taking it, which genuinely surprised me, because this just seemed super interesting to me,” he said. “Why wouldn't everybody want it? I feel like there should be a line to take this class.” 

While there certainly wasn’t a long line to take the class there was someone else waiting to take the class along with Johnson. 

For senior music therapy major, Madelynn Miller playing the Bell Tower has been a goal since she first got to campus. 

“The Bell Tower is pretty iconic on campus and so being able to be up there and just providing music to our Belmont community. It's kind of an honor,” she said. 

Johnson asked Shadinger about the class and realized that it would be a good fit for him even though he isn’t a music major and his primary instrument of choice is a saxaphone. 

“You play it with your fists, not your fingers. It definitely was a little bit of a learning curve, getting used to that feeling of playing it. But as far as the music theory, the way chords are organized, it's all the same,” said Johnson. 

The bells at the top of the tower, Braden Simmons

The heir to the bells - Nancy Riley 

Following nearly four decades of teaching and playing the carillon Shadinger has been looking for someone to take over the bronze. 

Nancy Riley, an assistant professor of music history, first garnered interest in the Belmont staple when she came for a tour of the campus.   

She was interested in the history of the instrument but didn’t think she would play it until she expressed her interest to Shadinger. 

“He's incredibly generous with his time and his expertise, and aside from the novelty and kind of just fun of learning this weird, kind of obscure instrument, just getting to spend quality time with him one-on-one has been just as valuable to me as learning this new, weird instrument,” she said. 

Some view the Bell Tower as an important aspect of campus, but they also say it doesn’t receive the proper attention it deserves. 

Shadinger, flipping through the a ledger of visitors that have stopped through the Bell Tower, Braden Simmons

It’s becoming more of a background noise rather than the anthem of the campus. 

“I think continuing education for students who are interested, maybe a little more publicity. I know it kind of goes in cycles,” she said. “So I would say, kind of, just continue to keep the carillon on people's minds.” 

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This article was written by Braden Simmons