Carillon Concerts

September 4 at 6:00 pm

John Widmann
City Carillonneur, the City of Frederick, the Joseph Dill Baker Memorial Carillon
John Widmann is the city carillonneur for the City of Frederick, MD, where he plays recitals every Sunday at 12:30 pm, year-round, on the Joseph Dill Baker Carillon in Baker Park. He has now held that position for 32 years. Widmann graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and completed his Master of Music degree from Towson University in 2011. In 2021-2022, Widmann received his diploma, “met Onderscheding” (cum laude) at the Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn” in Mechelen, Belgium.

In addition to his Sunday recitals, he retired three years ago from Frederick County Public Schools where he was a general/vocal music teacher. He is also the organist and choirmaster at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Potomac, MD. Widmann became a carillonneur member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America in 1996, and is a past member of the national board of that organization. He maintains an active concert schedule and has played frequently in the US, along with recitals in Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, England, Canada, and the Netherlands Antilles. He lives in Frederick with his wife, has two grown children, and as of October of last year, a granddaughter.

View September 4 program

September 11 at 6:00 pm

Michelle S. Lam
The Netherlands Carillon, Arlington, VA
Michelle S. Lam is an associate carillonneur at the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, VA and at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. Previously, she was the carillonist at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI. She started her carillon studies at Wellesley College and continued at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Lam attained carillonneur status from the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America (GCNA) in 2022, and serves as a director on the GCNA's board and as chair of the GCNA's Finance Committee.  

Dr. Lam's recitals and work in the carillon community focus on highlighting people of color, women, and lesser played works. With co-author Dr. Elisa Tersigni, she published The North American Carillon Community Survey in 2025, the first comprehensive study of the continent's carillon culture, with a focus on diversity and accessibility. Outside of carillon, she graduated with her economics Ph.D. in 2023 and works as an antitrust economist in Washington, DC.  

September 25 at 6:00 pm

Julie Zhu
University of Michigan
Julie Zhu is a composer, artist, and carillonist. Her work stands interstitial to instrumental music, electronics, and performance within settings ranging from chamber music stagings to art museum sound installations to experimental film scores. Concision and poetry characterize her most recent music, with an emphasis on gentle noises. Zhu has been commissioned by Radio France, Dark Music Days Reykjavík, GMEM Marseille, GRAME Lyon, Sansusī Latvia, Chamber Music America, and various friends and ensembles. As a carillonist, Zhu regularly performs on the Burton and Lurie Tower at the University of Michigan where she is an assistant professor of Performing Arts Technology. During her time as a visual artist in New York City, she was the resident carillonneur at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue.