Guild of Carillonneurs in North America

Guild of Carillonneurs in North America

Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA). Formed 3 Sep 1936 in Ottawa with a charter membership of 24 (8 Canadian) to foster the art of the carillon. Percival Price, at that time Dominion Carillonneur in Ottawa, was a co-founder; Edward Gammons (USA) was president until 1938. Though intended to operate in two US regions and one Canadian, the GCNA was active only in Canada until 1945. Each summer members combined in recitals on one or more carillons in Ontario, thus giving the first multiple-artist carillon concerts heard outside Europe. With the abolition of the GCNA's regional structure in 1945, annual continent-wide congresses were initiated. Among the guild's significant achievements have been its successful efforts to ensure minimum standards of bell tuning and to establish standard dimensions for carillon keyboards. In 1991 membership (carillonneurs, students, honorary and associate members) stood at 485, of whom 17 were Canadians. Among the presidents, several have been Canadian: Percival Price 1947-9, Robert Donnell 1950-2, Sydney Giles 1956-8, and James B. Slater 1969-71. The GCNA has published a Bulletin (usually once a year), a newsletter (usually twice a year), and carillon music. Archives are held (1991) at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. At the second World Congress of Carillonneurs, in 1975 at Douai, France, the GCNA and the several European guilds formed the World Carillon Federation and elected Percival Price honorary president.