Bells will be ringing in Tempe Friday when ASU's newly renovated symphonic carillon returns to campus.
Students and faculty may remember the instrument, a set of 148 chimes played by a keyboard, as the bells that played medleys every hour, on the hour, until last October. But the instrument has a longer history than that - it was originally purchased by the Associated Students of ASU in 1966 for $25,000.
The amplified sound of the chimes, which are tuned to sound like larger bells, was projected from speakers atop Matthews Center until the carillon fell out of use.
"I think when that building was remodeled, it was put in storage," said ASU spokeswoman Judith Smith. "Part of the reason that it was put away was the students bought it and nobody was ever put in charge of it."
Smith rediscovered the carillon while researching the building's namesake, former ASU President Arthur John Matthews, for an article in a staff publication.
"I'm the person who happened to find the carillon in storage, so I've been raising money the past couple years," Smith said. "We're really lucky that no one sent it over to salvage or that it wasn't destroyed."
Smith led the effort to raise the $35,000 needed for the renovation of the instrument, leaving fliers on cars with ASU license plates she spotted in parking lots and sitting on campus malls collecting donations.
"This is not my job, but my bosses have been supportive," she said.
The original carillon was taken to the manufacturer - still in business in Escondido, Calif. - in August 2003 to be restored.
The company, Maas-Rowe Carillons, loaned ASU a smaller instrument to use during the renovation.
The smaller carillon played chimes every quarter-hour and songs from Matthews Hall until the speakers were stolen from the building's roof last October.
"Somebody decided they didn't like the music [and] just took the speakers down," Smith said. "They were worth about $25,000, so that hurt."
The bells have inspired backlash before.
"When the chimes are played people scream and threaten my life," Rudy Turk told The State Press in 1978. "They say 'How can I teach a class?' or 'How can I study?'"
Turk was the director of ASU's art collection, which was housed in Matthews Center along with the carillon.
"I know a few people don't like the carillon, but it's part of ASU history and tradition, and most great universities have carillons," Smith said. "Once we really have it as part of the campus life, people are going to be very happy and see how much it adds to the campus."
Current students are excited about the carillon's return.
Spanish and American humanities senior Jolie LaBrot said she enjoyed hearing the bells in the past.
"It was like a nice hourly pause ... in the middle of your hectic day," she said.
Linda Vogel Yarbrough, the first ASU student to play the carillon, will perform the inaugural concert at the carillon's new home in the Zuni Room of the Memorial Union Friday at 4 p.m. The concert follows a 3:30 p.m. dedication ceremony on the MU's Starlight Terrace. The two events are open to the public.
Finance and accounting junior Katie Jackson will be participating in the rededication ceremony Friday as a member of the ASU Student Foundation.
"I think [the carillon renovation is] awesome because a lot of other schools have them, so I'm glad we have them back," she said. "Plus, it's a rich part of our history and tradition that needs to be restored."
The newly refurbished carillon's music will be amplified by speakers on the northwest corner of the MU, which Smith said was a more secure location than the roof of Matthews Hall.
The University ultimately plans to add two more sets of speakers in yet-to-be-determined locations to cover the campus with music, she added.
"People want to have music when the faculty proceed into Wells Fargo Arena for graduation, play the fight song for football games," Smith said.
She said ASU could also buy more bells to give the carillon a wider musical range and needs to set aside money for maintenance.
"We would like to have a scholarship for a student to be the ASU carillonneur, so we still have some fundraising to do," she said. "I'll still be out there with my jar and talking to people."
Reach the reporter at brian.indrelunas@asu.edu.
