Iowa State’s Sukup Atrium was filled with the tones and chimes of the campus’s model campanile carillon Friday afternoon. The performance was put on by students taking a carillon course.

The performers gathered in the Atrium around 12:15 p.m. to begin preparing for the concert. After testing all the equipment and acoustics, university Carillonneur and Professor of Music, Tin-Shi Tam gave her thumbs up and the concert began.

The audience was rather small, consisting mostly of students passing time between classes as well as a few more dedicated listeners.

First was a performance of “Eleanor Rigby” played by Rebekah Veldboom, a sophomore at Iowa State majoring in Environmental Science. The carillon is an odd instrument, usually observed from a bell tower, but Veldboom’s performance of “Eleanor Rigby” set a very peaceful tone in the Atrium. 

“Usually, you don’t have that kind of music on the bells, but some arrangements I’d already heard of “Eleanor Rigby” have bells in them,” Veldboom said. “So like, I think it’s kind of natural for that song, but it was definitely hard, the lower octaves are louder, but that’s like the counter-melody in the song.”

After Veldboom’s performance were two songs by a graduate student in genetics and genomics, Cavannah Yap, who was backed up by her musical friends. Filling roles as vocalists were Aaron Eckley, an aspiring musician, and Joemari Felarca, a senior in human development and family studies. Jim Wang, a senior in philosophy, beatboxed and electrical and computer engineering graduate, Micheal Fralaide played the violin.

Yap’s first performance was of the song “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Yap led the melody on the carillon as the vocalists, Eckley and Felarca, sang the familiar tune while Wang maintained the tempo by beatboxing. Fralaide supplemented the tune with a violin.

The group filled Sukup Atrium with their musical energy, immersing themselves in the performance and transforming the atmosphere of the entire building. Undaunted by the prospect of an unappreciated production, the performers’ courage to present their near hokey but genuinely fun show would leave anybody jealous.

The group went on to perform the song “Separate Ways” by Journey with similar energy and bravado continuing to captivate the audience who could likely use a good break from their academics.

Anthony Manderfeld, a senior in civil engineering, had been minding his notes and laptop before the performance. After the music ended he offered his take on the concert.

“Honestly, it was really interesting like how they put the different sounds together,” Manderfeld said. “Definitely, I mean, a song I’ve heard before, but it’s just amazing that they put those instruments and vocals together to make a complete song and actually still sound complete.”

Carillon concerts are not a new event at Iowa State. For years, students have been taking lessons on the unfamiliar instrument, but until recently, concerts had been performed in the Campanile’s carillon. After the pandemic, the construction of the 1:5 scale model of the Campanile with a functioning carillon inside moved the concerts to Sukup Hall. 

Sukup’s Atrium was an odd venue for a concert. It lacked ideal acoustics and seating, but it reflected the traditional setting of the carillon concerts, which would typically be observed by students who are near the campanile for whatever reason.

However, this venue did allow for a more intimate performance by Yap and her musical friends. Yap reflected on the group’s performance after the concert.

“I think the hardest part was to get all this in sync and make sure that we can all hear each other,” Yap said. “Yeah. That’s why I was wearing headphones, so I could hear them because if I didn’t, didn’t wear that, all I could hear was just myself.”

While both carillon performances were put together well, Yap’s stood out because of the support of additional vocalists and instruments. Yap commented on her decision to go above and beyond with her performance.

“I just thought of doing something different,” Yap said. “Since I have friends who really love to sing, it’d be great to [us] perform together.”