Articles

Driehaus Foundation Supports Rockefeller Memorial Chapel Stained Glass Window Restoration with $500,000 Grant

The Driehaus Foundation has awarded a $500,000 grant to the University of Chicago to restore and repair the stained glass in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel’s grand south window. Located on the University’s campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood, the medieval style Chapel was built in 1928 and has been a beautiful beacon and important gathering spot not only for the University of Chicago but also for the surrounding South Side communities for almost 100 years. Restoration of the window is part of a larger University project to repair and restore exterior masonry and other windows on the south half of the nearly century old Chapel and is one of several anticipated restoration projects in the...

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Prayers for Peace in the Middle East

We share in the following prayers of peace compiled by the U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East (please click or tap "Read More" for the attachment). Prayers for Peace attachment

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Alex Johnson is appointed seventh University of Chicago carillonist

From The Diapason: Alex Johnson is appointed the seventh university carillonist for Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. He leaves a position at the University of Texas, Austin, where he has taught carillon students, and the University of Rochester Carillon Society of advanced carillon students. He has also served as a mathematics teacher at the Eastside Early College High School, Austin. He succeeds Joey Brink, a member of The Diapason’s 20 under 30 Class of 2015, who has been appointed university carillonist for the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, Denver, Colorado (see the June 2022 issue, page 3). Read the full...

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Rockefeller Chapel hosts GCNA Congress, 90th anniversary of carillon

The University of Chicago will host the a series of free public concerts June 15-19 at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the campus instrument and convening musicians and scholars from across the continent. The events are held as part of the 79th Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. Founded in 1936, GCNA convenes annually at carillons to put on concerts of music both old and new, present research and historical studies, and conduct business among its members. This is the third congress hosted by the University of Chicago, after 1953 and 1977. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the University’s Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial...

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Rockefeller Memorial Chapel reopening to visitors beginning Sept. 28

Following a year and a half of closure due to the pandemic, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel will once again allow visitors inside its historic space beginning Tuesday, Sept. 28 and continuing through Autumn Quarter. “The Rockefeller Chapel calendar has been filled with recording, rehearsing, ringing, and remembering this past year, but we can't wait to share in-person experiences and performances again safely with old friends and new students alike, for which this wonderful place was scaled and built,” said Matthew Dean, Director of University Chapels. Visiting hours for the public will be held Tuesday—Friday, 11 a.m.—5 p.m. CT and Sundays 10 a.m. —1 p.m. Like the rest of campus, masks are...

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Two student carillonneurs receive Guild of Carillonneurs in North America professional certification

Two members of the University of Chicago Guild of Carillonneurs at Rockefeller Chapel, fourth-year Maria Krunic and third-year Joseph Min, passed their professional certification exams this month with the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA). After preparing for the exam for the better part of a year, Maria and Joseph submitted recordings of their carillon playing as anonymous entrants to a jury of carillonneurs across the content. They are only two of five entrants this year to have passed the exam, and will be featured in this month's virtual GCNA congress at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. Maria Krunic is a fourth year in the College and is majoring in linguistics with minors...

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Easter Sunday

Wishing a beautiful Easter, Passover, and Spring weekend to all. The bulletin for our annual Easter service - this year an entry in the Sundays from Rockefeller podcast, available on all platforms - can be located here for viewing or download.

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A statement in solidarity with Asian communities nationwide

Like so many in our community and around the world, we are angered and horrified by the acts of violence visited on our Asian friends across the country, particularly in the past year. As citizens of the University of Chicago, while we are committed to the free exchange of ideas, we are equally resolute in our opposition to any speech that denigrates entire peoples. Words matter. People matter more. We are particularly sensitive to the fact that Asian communities on our campus have endured more than their share of grief this past year. We see you. We support you. Our hearts are open. This is a challenging time for all of us as we do our best to work together for healing and wholeness while...

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How UChicago’s carillonneur finds inspiration during the pandemic

What was it like returning the Rockefeller Chapel and the carillon? Joey Brink: Returning to the instrument on June 15 [2020] was a breath of fresh air. For me, it was empowering, uplifting and deeply gratifying. I began playing on June 15, Monday through Friday, every day from noon to 1 p.m. Normally I would have had several students, and many guest performers playing throughout the summer as well, but in these next three months, I was the only individual allowed back in the tower, as the policy for returning students to the instrument was still being worked out. As a result, I felt even more like Quasimodo, being the only one in the tower, and often the only one in the chapel. I actually...

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Spiritual Leader, Dean of Rockefeller Chapel, Scholar: Maurice Charles (M.Div. ’90, Ph.D. ’13) Returns to Hyde Park

As dean of Rockefeller Chapel, the Reverend Maurice Charles sees himself as a spiritual leader first and foremost. When people are hurting, celebrating, or asking questions about life, Charles is the first person they call. But he’s also used the position to raise questions about race and the role of policing at UChicago—questions which, as a Black man, he’s grappled with for his entire life. Charles grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, in a family that was heavily involved in the church. His mother’s family had migrated to Cleveland during the first Great Migration and, according to Charles, left their past behind. “I come from a family that came from the Jim Crow South. And they never talked...

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