Bell Ringing at Smith College
The Smith Bell Tower is located in the Mendenhall Center - viewed from the rear of the center.
Summary
This page gives information about bell ringing (or change ringing) at Smith College. The bell tower has eight bells and is located in the Mendenhall Center for the performing arts on campus. Look below for information on
- coming events,
- practice times, and
- a number of other resources and links.
- who rings bells, and a brief explanation of change ringing,
- previous ringing events , and
- contact information.
- Summer practices: Happen from time to time depending on our numbers.
- Tower visit: Emily's parents will visit our tower. We will ring 7.30-9pm on Friday August 27 and 2-5pm on Saturday August 28, 2011.
- UK Visiting Band:11:30am-1:00pm Monday August 15, 2011. David Hird is bringing a group of UK ringers to visit Smith's Tower. We are welcome to join the band to ring for 30mins. They will also ring a quarter peal during their visit.
- Family Weekend: We'll have a time where families can visit the tower and see (and hear!) change ringing in action. Tentatively scheduled for Sat 23 in the afternoon.
- Previous ringing events are found here.
- Regular practices are held on Wednesdays 7-9pm during the Fall 2011 semester.
- There is handling practice for 30 minutes at the start of each weekly practice. Also on weekends (by arrangement).
- Extra handling lessons are available, contact us if you are interested.
- Visitors from other towers are most welcome! Please contact us ahead of time to confirm the practice time. (Our practices need to fit in with Smith's academic calendar and with the number of available ringers. In addition, we may be able to add an extra practice time to accomodate your schedule.)
- You can find Mendenhall Center on a campus map of Smith College.
- There is street parking (with meters) nearby.
- Directions to the Smith College campus can be found here.
- Campanophile
- Dove's Guide
- Dove's entry for Smith College is here.
- The website for the North American Guild of Change Ringers is here.
- The website for the MIT Guild of Bellringers is here.
- The website for the Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers is here.
You can also find information on
There is another set of bells on campus, the carillon, which is located in College Hall. A neat photo of some of these bells can be found here. Contact Dr Grant Moss in the music department for more information.
Website last modified 08/04/111
Coming Events
Practice Times
Bell tower:
Handbells: Change ringing may also be practiced on handbells. Currently there is no practice
time scheduled.
(Note that Smith College also has a Handbell Choir which plays
tunes on handbells. For more information, contact the director of the Smith Handbell Choir, Dr Grant Moss.)
Where is the bell tower? It is located on Green Street Northampton MA, in the Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts on the Smith College campus. The tower is in the part of Mendenhall which is closest to Sage Hall. The closest entrance is located at the rear of the building just near the tower. Alternately, enter Mendenhall by the front entrance, go straight ahead and down some stairs, then follow the signs to the dance studios. The stairs to the tower are located just past the three Berenson dance studios.
The bell tower in Mendenhall Center, viewed from the street.
Other resources and links