If you are fascinated by the sound of the carillon and have perhaps been up the tower with a carillonneur, you might wonder if you would like to make music on a carillon. Maybe you are already a musician: the step towards a carillon is an obvious one for an organist or pianist. But even if you are just beginning your conservatoire studies, it might be worth considering the carillon.
Playing the carillon is a game of extremes. High up in the tower, the carillonneur makes music that everyone can hear. Every time, it is a concert for a large audience. The audience is not only large, it is also very divers. You must be able to vary your programme and have a broad repertoire. An ‘ordinary’ post as carillonneur means giving some 50 to 100 concerts a year, so a wide interest in all sorts of musical styles is necessary.
But can one find enough work after finishing the course? However well you play, your playing cannot exist without a platform. No-one plays only on a practice-keyboard! There is no easy answer to this. There are more then 180 carillons in The Netherlands and even if those that are hardly played are not counted, there is quite a large demand for carillonneurs. The prospects will probably not diminish in the future; in fact, within ten years, quite a number of carillonneurs will retire and there will be work enough for good carillonneurs.
