Alex Johnson (USA)
Sunday July 5, 2026 | 13:15-14:00
P R O G R A M
1. Music from the Low Countries
a. Toccata – Arthur Meulemans (1884 – 1966)
b. Sonatine II – Sjef van Balkom (1922 – 2004)
– Andante – Allegretto – Adagio – Allegro – Andante
2. Three short pieces
a. A Whimsy, uit Serenade II – Ronald Barnes (1927 – 1997)
b. University of Chicago Chime – Johan Franco (1908 – 1988)
c. Hypnos – Phyllis Chen (1988)
3. Four Short Pieces – Jean Miller (1916 – 1964)
– Prelude – Children’s Song – Hoedown – Toccata
4. Music about nature – Alex Johnson (1997)
a. Cuckoo
b. Aqua
This program starts in the cradle of the carillon with music from the Low Countries. This will be followed by music by Ronald Barnes and Johan Franco, two of the most important North American composers of carillon music, as well as Phyllis Chen, a contemporary American composer, pianist and sound artist.
After three short pieces, Four Short Pieces by Jean Miller is performed. Miller was a composer, anthropologist, and radio translator during World War II. At the urging of Johan Franco, she began composing for carillon. Towards the end of the program, Cuckoo, based on the call of the cuckoo follows, and Aqua, inspired by the feeling of looking up underwater to admire the waves, ripples, and refracting light. As an encore, you will hear an elegant waltz by Erik Satie.
Alex Johnson is the University Carillonist of the University of Chicago. He teaches a studio of 20 students and regularly plays the 72-bell, 100-ton Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon, the third heaviest carillon in the world. Alex performs carillon recitals and teaches masterclasses across the world, and he is an avid composer, improviser, and supporter of new music.
Alex first discovered the carillon at the University of Rochester, where he also studied physics, linguistics, mbira, and gamelan music. He studied at the Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn” in Mechelen and at Bok Tower Gardens in Florida. At the 8th International Queen Fabiola Carillon Competition in Mechelen he won several prizes: 1st Prize overall, prize for the best performance of a work by a Belgian composer, and the improvisation prize.
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