New Year's Day
Jan. 1, 2021 | 2:00-2:40pm (Eastern)
The Riverside Church
490 Riverside Dr.
New York, NY 10027
Experience the thundering delight of the largest carillon in the world ringing in the New Year from the tallest steeple in North America. On New Year’s Day, the bells of the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon (named in honor of John D. Rockefeller’s mother) will erupt into sound as Dr. Charles Semowich performs a concert themed to healing, hope, peace, and new beginnings.
Standing over 392 feet high, the bell tower houses an impressive 74 bells – from the smallest at a mere 10 pounds to the largest at 20 tons. The 40,000-pound Bourdon bell remains the largest and heaviest tuned bell in the world. Together, the bells are said to weigh over 500,000 pounds! The belfry itself spans three floors, and is clad in a gothic style with Indiana limestone over a steel frame.
This performance is free and open to the public, and can be enjoyed while social distancing in the public spaces and surrounding areas of Riverside Park and the General Grant National Memorial. Families with children are welcome.
Program on 74 Bells
Enjoy a program designed for the reflection of the past and the hope of tomorrow. For the convenience of listeners, a small bell will announce the number for each selection.
1. For Healing and Hope
- Healing Bells by Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra
- Song of Hope, Argentinian Folk Melody
- Whispering Hope by Alice Hawthorne, arr. Richard Giszczak
- Heal the World by Michael Jackson, arr. Tiffany Ng
2. For Peace
- Prelude for Peace by Gerald Finzi, arr. Austin Ferguson
- Hymn of Peace by Roel Oosten
- With Peace, I Go There by Johann Th. Lemckert
- Grant Us Peace by Felix Mendelssohn arr. Bob van Der Linde
- The Planets-Venus, Bringer of Peace by Gustav Holst, arr. Monika Kazmierzak
3. For the New Year
- Tomorrow by Martin Charmin, arr. Richard Giszczak
- As Time Goes By by Herman Hupfield, arr. James Lawson
- Ode for the New Year by William Selby, arr. Charles Semowich
- Variations on Auld Lang Syne by Charles Semowich
- Father Time by Bessie Mae Robinson
- Vaya Con Dios, arr. Richard Giszczak
