Bok Tower Garden's Geert D'hollander Wins Olmsted 200 National Competition

Bok Tower Gardens is participating with gardens across the nation to commemorate the 200th birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., father of American landscape design. His son, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. designed Bok Tower Gardens and many of our nation's finest public spaces.

As part of this nationwide celebration, the National Association for Olmsted Parks and Olmsted 200 sponsored an international carillon composition competition in 2021, entitled Inspired by Olmsted. An expert jury, chaired by Washington National Cathedral Carillonneur, Edward Nassor, selected five winners, and Bok Tower Gardens Carillonneur Geert D'hollander was awarded first place for his original composition.

D'hollander's winning composition Four Miniatures: Spring Flowers at the U.S. Capitol Grounds, The Reflection Pond at Bok Tower, A Court Dance at the Biltmore Gardens, and Central Park in the Fall will be shared with and performed by carillonneurs around the globe.

Bok Tower Gardens will host their 25th International Carillon Festival March 16-20. The festival features world-renowned carillonneurs performing daily concerts at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. and Sunset Concert performances on March 16 and March 19 at 6:30 p.m. All festival concerts are included with general admission.

Geert D'hollander will perform his award-winning composition at the Festival on Wednesday, March 16 at 1 p.m. and the second prize-winning piece by Peter Paul Olejar of Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday, March 20 at 3 p.m.

The Music of Ireland Comes to Lake Wales for St. Patrick's Day

The first and currently the only carillonneur of Ireland, Adrian Patrick Gebruers, will perform a special St. Patrick's Day concert at 1 p.m., including the Irish National Anthem (A Soldier's Song) and a delight program of Celtic folksongs.

25th Annual International Carillon Festival Guest Carillonneurs

The festival features daily concerts by four outstanding professional carillonneurs, Stefano Colletti, Wylie Crawford, Adrian Patrick Gebruers, and Carol Jickling Lens.

STEFANO COLLETTI: FRANCE

A native of France, Stefano Colletti has earned a Gold Medal in writing, musical training, carillon, and piano. He also holds a certificate of completion in chamber music, sonata, and orchestration, and a master's degree in musicology from the University of Lille III and the Certificat d'Aptitude au Professorat de l'Enseignement du Second degree (CAPES) of musical education and choral singing.

WYLIE CRAWFORD: USA

Wylie Crawford is the Senior University Carillonneur at the University of Chicago, having served for 31 years as University Carillonneur. He is the Resident Carillonneur for the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, IL and was the first City Carillonneur for the Millennium Carillon in Naperville, IL. In 2020, he became the President of the Venice Carillon Foundation, Inc. and inaugurated the Florida Carillon Festival.

He is the Past President of the World Carillon Federation (www.carillon.org), a federation of 14 international associations that organizes conferences in countries with a carillon culture. Crawford served a record-breaking 11-year term as President, having served as WCF Treasurer from 1990 until 2006.

With a B.S. degree in Physics and a Master's degree in teaching from the University of Chicago, Mr. Crawford is pleased to have initiated the first regular carillon instruction programs at four Chicago-area carillons. He supervised the 2007-2008 renovation of the 100-ton 72-bell University of Chicago carillon.

ADRIAN PATRICK GEBRUERS: IRELAND

Of Flemish-Irish parents, Adrian Patrick Gebruers holds the unique distinction of being the first Irish carillonneur in the long history of the instrument.

A graduate of the National University of Ireland, he also studied at the Municipal School of Music in Cork (Ireland) and at the Universities of Salamanca and Navarra in Spain. He received his initial carillon tuition from his late father and subsequently studied under Jef Rottiers, Piet van den Broek and Eddy Mariën at the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen.

In 2021 he celebrated his fifty-first year as Carillonneur of St Colman's Cathedral in Cobh, a picturesque harbor town on Ireland's southern coast.

CAROL JICKLING LENS: USA

Carol Jickling Lens began her carillon studies with Beverly Buchanan at Christ Church Cranbrook, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in the 8th grade. She continued with the carillon at the University of Michigan, with R. Hudson Ladd. In the middle of college came the excitement of going to The Netherlands Carillon School in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, studying with Leen 't Hart, where she earned both the Practical and End Diplomas. Lens held the position of carillonneur at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church and at the Bell Tower Center, both in Houston. She was appointed University Carillonneur at The University of Denver in 2010.

The 25th International Carillon Festival is supported and sponsored in part by Visit Central Florida and The State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.