For the first time ever, the bells of the Campanile will ring inside Stephens Auditorium on Monday.

The bells will be connected via fiber optic cable with Stephens in an all-out Christmas performance featuring the Central Iowa Symphony, singers from six local high school choirs and a rendition of ” ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” read by President Gregory Geoffroy.

Under the direction of conductor Mark Laycock, assistant professor of music and conductor of the Central Iowa Symphony, the musicians, numbering more than 300, will be connected by video camera and fiber optics.

A camera will be strategically placed in the Stanton Memorial Carillon on Central Campus and at Stephens so the audience can see and hear carillioneur Tin-Shi Tam.

“This is very important for the Campanile because it is an outdoor instrument, so it usually depends on the weather,” Tam says. “But through technology, an outdoor instrument has now been brought inside.”

The idea for such an event came after an early October carillon and orchestra concert was canceled because it was too cold to be outside, Laycock says.

“We have always had the concept of bringing the carillon festival indoors, but this is the first time for the performing arts to take advantage of Iowa State technology,” Tam says.

Not only a unique event in arts and technology, the performance will also be the world premiere of “Star Bells,” a musical suite for carillon and symphony orchestra. The piece was composed by Jeffrey Prater, professor of music and the Iowa State Distinguished Humanities Scholar.

With difficulties in transporting either an entire orchestra or the bells of the campanile, a concert featuring music written for carillon and orchestra doesn’t happen every day.

Although Prater, Laycock and Tam have been planning the idea for a few months, they say rehearsing has been difficult.

“I have sat in on orchestra rehearsal and practiced on a piano to get a feel for how the music sounds, but other than that not too much actual rehearsal has been done,” Tam says.

“I think not actually being able to practice until hours before the show, combined with not actually being able to know until Monday evening if we can pull this off has been the most challenging part of this concert, but I know we can do it,” Laycock says.

He says the concert should be a welcome distraction for students from the stress of finals week.

“This concert gives everyone a chance to sit inside and listen to the bells without the everyday distractions of the outside world,” Tam says.

On Monday, the music will come from just across campus, but Tam says the time may come when music collaboration can travel much further.

“With this sort of technological advance it will not be long before cities, states, and even countries can all make music at the same time without ever once leaving their central quarters,” she says.