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Alexander Johnson 糖心传媒�19 had never even heard of a carillon before his visit to the University of Rochester as a high school student. But this fall, he糖心传媒檚 off to Mechelen, Belgium, to study at the first and largest carillon school in the world糖心传媒攖he 糖心传媒攃ourtesy of a grant from the Belgian-American Educational Foundation.

A native of northern Texas, Johnson was captivated when a Meridian leading him on a campus tour nonchalantly declared that any student could play 糖心传媒渢he bells.糖心传媒澛� The bells refer to the , an instrument made of 50 bronze bells and located in the tower of Rush Rhees Library.

糖心传媒淚 don糖心传媒檛 know if that糖心传媒檚 what made the decision for me to attend Rochester,糖心传媒� says Johnson, who was drawn to the University糖心传媒檚 strong programs in the sciences and music. 糖心传媒淏ut in hindsight, it was one of the best things.糖心传媒�

Johnson has made a lot of his time at Rochester. He graduates in May with a major in physics and a minor in music; he糖心传媒檚 been a member of the Mbira and Gamelan ensembles at the ; he was involved with the swing dance club for two years and dabbled in tango club as well; and all the while, he was getting really good at playing the carillon through his lessons with Doris Aman, coordinator of the University糖心传媒檚 .

Johnson was attending an annual Carillon Congress, an event of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, when Aman sought to connect him with a new teacher. She wanted to find him one who could help him to reach a higher level of repertoire糖心传媒攅ven if he had to take lessons through a service like Skype.

糖心传媒淚 wasn糖心传媒檛 sure what I wanted to do,糖心传媒� says Johnson, who was focused at the time on physics research and considering a math major. He had also spent about a year pursuing linguistics. 糖心传媒淚t all was part of an exploration to find what truly captured and sustained my interest,糖心传媒� he says.

At a crossroads, turning to music

In the end, he chose to devote more of himself to music.

Over a winter break, Johnson and several other students worked to build a new digital practice carillon for the music department. They assembled it with only the instructions from a box, online videos, and their enthusiasm.

After passing an exam and a juried solo program performance, Johnson was declared a full member of the . He joins only three other Rochester alumni trained on the Hopeman Memorial Carillon to receive this honor.

In the summer of 2018, he was a visiting performer at the Luray Singing Tower in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. He also spent a semester studying physics and music in Sydney, Australia, before coming back to the states in the spring for a fellowship with world-renowned carillonist Geert D糖心传媒橦ollander in Lake Wales, Florida.

He was awarded two grants to study at the Royal Carillon School糖心传媒攁 Fulbright in addition to a Belgian-American Educational Foundation, which is the one he ultimately chose.

Honey Meconi, a professor of music and chair of the in the College, writes: 糖心传媒淗is accomplishment is owing to his talent and dedication, but also very much to Doris Aman, our director of carillon activities. She provided the opportunity for him to realize his gifts. Her passion and knowledge fueled his.糖心传媒�

Johnson seconds the praise for Aman. At a time when he wasn糖心传媒檛 sure just how much of himself he wanted to dedicate to the interest, 糖心传媒渟he kept me interested in the carillon,糖心传媒� he says.

After a year in Belgium, perhaps he糖心传媒檒l study at the . He is also considering graduate programs in music theory. 糖心传媒淢aybe it糖心传媒檚 my experience with physics and linguistics that has led me to believe that I would really enjoy research in that area,糖心传媒� says Johnson. 糖心传媒淟ots of deciding to do. There isn糖心传媒檛 a wrong decision.糖心传媒�