Finding Aid for Altgeld Chimes Music and Records, 1903-2019 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

By Joshua Altshuler, Kou Chery, Sylvia Figueroa Ortiz, Kelda Habing, Mary Heisley, Naja Tia Morris, Katie Peterson, Meredith Sproull, Lee Whitacre, and Nolan Vallier

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Collection Overview

Title: Altgeld Chimes Music and Records, 1903-2019

ID: 12/5/9

Primary Creator: Albert Emmett Marien (1911-2002)

Extent: 5.0 cubic feet

Arrangement: Chronological

Date Acquired: 11/09/2020. More info below under Accruals.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Consists of papers, photographs, music, correspondence, and ephemera documenting the activities of the Altgeltd Chimes and its first chimesmaster, Albert Marien, ranging from 1903 to 2019. The collection is organized into three series. Series 1: Chimesmasters Personal Papers; Series 2: Administrative and Operational Records, and Series 3: Photographs and Memorabilia.

Collection Historical Note

The first set of chimes at the University of Illinois was installed in Altgeld Tower in 1920. The bells were cast by McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland and were the memorial gift of the senior classes from 1914 to 1922. When they were installed, the largest bell cast by the foundry weighed a little over one and half tons and was dedicated to Dr. Edmund Janes James, President of the University from 1904-1920. Between 1956 and 1957, the tower was renovated and the chimes remained silent. In 1957, Albert Emmett Marien approached the director of the School of Music, Duane Branigan, about performing on the chimes once more. In 1958, he and Branigan established a regular noon-time concert series in Altgeld Tower. For nearly forty years, Marien served as chimemaster. He was assisted by various undergraduate assistants and volunteers, who developed their own arrangements of popular and classical music for the chimes to perform on the daily concerts. In 1990, Marien began raising funds to transform the Altgeld chimes into a full carillon. After raising nearly $500,000 it was discovered the tower was not structurally sound enough to support the weight of additional bells. The University altered their plans and errected a campanile on the South Quad, a tower which remains to this day. Marien was followed as chimemaster by Sue Wood, who served from 1995 until 2017. Wood was replaced by Jonathon Smith, who served between 2017 and 2019. The current chimemaster, Christina Horton, has served since 2019.

Biographical Note

Albert "Al" Emmett Marien was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1911. He began his undergraduate studies at Washington University (St. Louis) but transferred the University of Illinois in 1931. He graduated with a degree in commerce and law in 1933. In 1942, he earned a masters degree in statistics and marketing at the University of Denver. The following year, he became a professor of Business Administration at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. It was here that Marien began performing on the College's electric carillon. In June 1948, he moved with his family to Champaign, Illinois, where he worked as a principal at Westview Elementary School. Soon after he was hired by the University of Illinois and became an instructor of marketing and advertising.

In 1956, the bell tower of Altgeld Hall was renovated. Marien approached the director of the School of Music, Duane Branigan, about his performance ability. In 1958, Marien became chime master and was performing two fifteen minute noon-hour concerts in Altgeld Tower each week. By 1959, he had persuaded his department to award two graduate assistantships to assist him in performing daily concerts in Altgeld. These assistantships were eventually dissolved and he instead sought the assistance of student volunteers.

Marien served as the University Chimemaster until 1995, when Sue Wood, his assistant, took over for him. In his three decades of service to the University, Marien contributed numerous articles to the American Guild of Carillioneurs. He was also instrumental in raising funds to upgrade the chimes to a full carillon. In 1990 and after raising nearly $500,000 for the upgrade, it was discovered that Altgeld Tower could not support the weight of the new bells. The University decided to construct a free standing campanile on the South Quad instead. Marien died before seeing the campanile constructed.

Administrative Information

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Accruals: The Altgeld Chimes: Songs for Our Dear Old Illinois CD donated by the Music and Performing Arts Library on 9/18/2023.

Acquisition Source: Tina Horton, Chime Master

Acquisition Method: Transfer

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Chimesmasters Personal Papers, 1963-2019],
[Series 2: Administrative and Operational Records, 1931-2019],
[Series 3: Photographs and Memorabilia, 1930-2017],
[All]

Series 2: Administrative and Operational Records, 1931-2019

Consists of administrative and operational records of the Altgeld Chimes organized into three sub-series: Subseries 1: Concert Programs and Advertising; Subseries 2: Hymnals, Sheet Music, and Songbooks; Subseries 3: Adminstrative Records.

Sub-Series 1: Concert Programs and Advertising

Consists of Altgeld Chimes concert setlists, concert programs, information about the chimes' history, and news articles about the chimes. Within advertising and within concert programs, arranged chronologically.

Box 1

Folder 18: Newsclippings, November 24, 1959 - November 10, 2019
Folder 19: Historical Informational Programs, June 17, 1966-November 10,2019: Consists of historical pamplets, Altgeld Chimes concert brochures, and performance programs
Folder 20: Brief History of Altgeld Hall, September 1994
Folder 21: Other Carillions in Illinois, June 25, 1996 - June 11, 2006
Folder 22: University Web Articles, May 04, 2005-November 06, 2019
Folder 23: Local, National Web Articles, September 9, 2007-November 8, 2019
Folder 24: Promotional Documents, August 2019
Folder 25: Fundrising, undated

Box 3

Folder 5: Concert setlists, October 06, 1966-October 26, 1973
Folder 6: Concert setlists, October 29, 1973-September 30, 1975
Folder 7: Concert setlists, October 01, 1975-October 13, 1978
Folder 8: Concert setlists, October 16, 1978-April 17, 1980
Folder 9: Concert setlists, April 18, 1980-January 15, 1982
Folder 10: Concert setlists, January 18, 1982-June 28, 1983
Folder 11: Concert setlists, June 29, 1983-December 05, 1984
Folder 12: Concert setlists, December 05, 1984-February 18, 1986
Folder 13: Concert setlists, February 19, 1986-July 30, 1987
Folder 14: Concert setlists, July 30, 1987-October 10, 1988
Folder 15: Concert setlists, October 10, 1988-August 17, 1990
Folder 16: Concert setlists, August 20, 1990-December 16, 1992
Folder 17: Concert setlists, December 17, 1992-July 05, 1994
Folder 18: Concert setlists, July 06, 1994-April 03, 1996
Folder 19: Concert setlists, April 04, 1996-April 15, 1998
Folder 20: Concert setlists, April 16, 1998-April 12, 2000
Folder 21: Concert setlists, April 13, 2000-March 01, 2002
Folder 22: Concert setlists, March 04, 2002-December 31, 2003
Folder 23: Concert setlists, January 02, 2004-December 30, 2005

Box 4

Folder 1: Concert Setlists, January 02, 2006-January 20, 2008
Folder 2: Concert Setlists, January 21, 2008-April 02, 2010
Folder 3: Concert Setlists, April 05, 2010-February 20, 2012
Folder 4: Concert Setlists, October 19, 2015-October 18, 2018
Folder 5: Concert Setlists, October 19, 2018-November 20, 2019

Sub-Series 2: Hymnals, Sheet Music, and Songbooks

Consists of Altgeld Chimes member notebooks, hymnals, songbooks, and carillion sheet music. Hymnals and loose sheet music and performer notebooks are arranged alphabetically. Oversized materials are in Box 8.

Box 1

Folder 29: The Cokesbury Worship Hymal, 1938
Folder 30: Sheet Music: Cornell University, undated

Box 2

Folder 8: The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 1940
Folder 9: The Hymnbook, 1955
Folder 10: Hymns for God's People, 1984
Folder 11: Lutheran Worship, 1982
Folder 12: Songs of the Colleges, 1904: Book
Folder 13: Sheet Music: St. James Anglican Church (Ont), undated
Folder 14: Union Hymnal, 1936
Folder 15: The United Methodist Hymnal, 1989

Box 3

Folder 1: University of Chicago Songbook, 1941
Folder 2: University of Illinois Songbook, 1912
Folder 3: Wedding Music and Love Songs Arranged for the Altgeld Chimes, undated
Folder 4: We Sing: A Singing School, 1953

Box 6

Folder 1: Performer notebook: John Buzard, undated
Folder 2: Performer notebook: M.Cain, B. Ihrig, D. Stybr, undated
Folder 3: Performer notebook: Paul R. Fetty, undated
Folder 4: Performer notebook: J. Henderson, C. Baker, B. Wilson, undated
Folder 5: Performer notebook: Jethro's Songbook, undated
Folder 6: Performer notebook: Lys K., undated
Folder 7: Performer notebook: Marianne Kozlowski, undated
Folder 8: Performer notebook: Albert Emmett Marien, undated
Folder 9: Performer notebook: Ken Marshall, undated
Folder 10: Performer notebook: Michael Robinson, undated
Folder 11: Performer notebook: John Schaffer, undated
Folder 12: Performer notebook: Chas. Seldomrdge, undated
Folder 13: Performer notebook: Paul Sims, undated

Box 7

Folder 1: Performer notebook: Mike Wallace, 1984-1989
Folder 2: Perforrmer notebook: Sue Wood Part 1 of 3, undated
Folder 3: Performer notebook: Sue Wood Part 2 of 3, undated
Folder 4: Performer notebook: Sue Wood Part 3 of 3, undated
Folder 5: Performer notebook: Karen Zink, 1999
Folder 6: Performer notebook: performers unidentified Part 1 of 3, undated
Folder 7: Performer notebook: performers unidentified Part 2 of 3, undated
Folder 8: Performer notebook: performers unidentified Part 3 of 3, undated

Box 8

Folder 1: Sheet Music for Carillon, 1951-1992
Folder 2: Sheet Music: Christmas Carol Books, 1931-1947
Folder 3: This Is the Ultimate Fake Book, 1981

Sub-Series 3: Administrative Records

Consists of guestbooks listing visitors to Altgeld Chimes, the official chimes handbook for student players, and informational materials pertaining to chimes players' names, schedules, and contact information. Arranged chronologically.

Box 1

Folder 26: A Manuel for Care of the Altgeld Hall Chimes, September 15, 1984
Folder 27: Guestbooks, October 1995-November 1995
Folder 28: Guestbooks, June 2003-June 2008

Box 2

Folder 1: Guestbooks, June 2008 -December 2009
Folder 2: Guestbooks, January 2010-August 2011
Folder 3: Guestbooks, August 2011- November 2012
Folder 4: Guestbooks, November 2012-January 2014
Folder 5: Guestbooks, undated
Folder 6: The Official Altgeld Chimes Handbook, 2019
Folder 7: Chimes Players, undated

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Chimesmasters Personal Papers, 1963-2019],
[Series 2: Administrative and Operational Records, 1931-2019],
[Series 3: Photographs and Memorabilia, 1930-2017],
[All]