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Jeff Davis was appointed University Carillonist in July
of 2000. He began carillon studies in 1984 with Berkeley's first
University Carillonist Ronald Barnes. Prior to his tenure at
Berkeley, Davis was University Carillonist at the University
of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
Davis passed his advancement examination of The
Guild of Carillonneurs in North America in 1988 and has served that organization
in a variety of offices, currently serving as a judge on the Johan Franco
Composition committee. Davis was a Director of the Guild from
1996 to 2001, and President from 1996 to 2000. In addition to
service for the GCNA, Davis is also a member of the Committee of Delegates
of the World Carillon Federation.
Davis has given recitals throughout the U.S. and
Europe. He has been a guest artist in the Ann Arbor Festival, the Barcelona
International Festival, and has twice represented the Guild in recitals
at congresses of the World Carillon Federation. He was awarded the
Berkeley Medal for distinguished service to the carillon in 1993.
A composer as well as carillonist, Davis studied
composition with Don Gillis, Deems Taylor, and Howard Hanson. He attended
the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan, and was made a Distinguished
Alumnus of Interlochen in 1974. His works, in a wide variety of media,
have not been performed nearly enough.
To contact Jeff Davis: ucbells@berkeley.edu
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David Hunsberger has been one of the assistant carillonists at the University
of California (Berkeley) since 1983, and during the 1999-2000 academic
year was Acting University Carilloner. He studied carillon at The Riverside
Church in New York City with James R. Lawson, and at the Rees Carillon
in Springfield IL, with the late Raymond Keldermans. He holds the Berkeley
Medal for distinguished service to the carillon.
His recital activity has included participation
in carillon festivals in Leuvain (Belgium), Utrecht (The Netherlands),
Dijon and Chambéry (France), Wellington (New Zealand),
Lake Wales FL, Springfield IL, and Berkeley, as well as numerous
tours in the United States, Canada, Holland, Belgium, France,
and Australia.
Mr Hunsberger has been chair of the Legal committee
of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America since 1992, and its Treasurer
since 1996, a post he also held between 1976 and 1978. He served as Recording
Secretary from 1978 to 1996 and as Director from 1979 to 1994.
Mr Hunsberger holds the BMus degree cum
laude from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea OH, both the
MMus and PhD degrees from Washington University in St Louis MO,
the JD degree from the University of California (Berkeley), and
the Associate certificate of the American Guild of Organists.
He has taught music at Washington University and at Webster College
in St Louis, and at the Thailand Theological Seminary in Chiang
Mai. He has held the post of organist-choirmaster at First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, in St Louis MO, First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara CA, and St John's Presbyterian Church in Berkeley. He is now a contracts analyst at the University of California, and organist-choirmaster at Zion Lutheran Church in Piedmont CA.
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John Agraz began his carillon study with Robert Grogan at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC in 1970, while serving in the US Army. On his return to California, he played the Sather Tower chime occasionally from 1972 to 1977, and in 1979 he joined the Berkeley carillon staff. He has played regularly since then, continuing his studies with the late Ronald Barnes of UC Berkeley in the 1980's. In 1993 he was a recipient of the Berkeley Medal for distinguished service to the carillon. Mr. Agraz is also in charge of the maintenance of the Berkeley carillon and practice instruments.
A carillonneur member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America since 1988, he has served on its Board of Directors and as a juror on its Examination Committee. Mr. Agraz is currently employed as a clinical laboratory scientist the HLA & Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at the Children's Hospital & Research Center in Oakland
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Richard P. Strauss studied carillon with Ronald Barnes at the Washington (DC) National Cathedral. He was Cathedral Carillonneur at the Washington National Cathedral from 1976-84 and Carillonneur at the Albany (NY) City Hall from 1987-91. Strauss designed and built carillon keyboards for Central Christian Church, San Antonio TX, in 1983, and for University of California Berkeley, in 1984. The same design was built by others for Albany City Hall in 1986, the Bok Tower in 1987, St. Stephen's Church, Cohasset MA, in 1989, and Duke University Chapel in 1992. In 2000, for the Verdin Company in Cincinnati OH, Strauss designed the "Keyboard 2000" to rationalize European and American dimension standards. Keyboard 2000 was built by Verdin Company for Berea (KY) College in 2000, and for the Thomas Rees Carillon, Springfield IL, in 2001. In 2006 the basic dimensions of Keyboard 2000 were adopted by the World Carillon Federation for the WCF's "Keyboard 2006." Strauss continues working as a consultant, designer, and technician. He was awarded the Berkeley Medal in 1983.
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Nathan
Cao is a fourth-year Business Administration and Legal Studies major
with an intent to go to law school. He is a member of Phi Alpha Delta
Pre-law Fraternity. Nathan studied piano for over 14 years and trombone
for 7 years and this is his third year playing the carillon. As far
as listening to music goes, he enjoys classical and contemporary jazz. He also enjoys playing badminton with the Cal Badminton Club. |
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Jennifer
Gipson is a graduate student in the French department where she is working on a dissertation on the evolution of the figure of the storyteller in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French literature. Her other interests include foreign language pedagogy, the development of the short story, French and Francophone folklore, and the literature of nineteenth century New Orleans. She received a B.A. in music and a B.A. in French from Centenary College of Louisiana and a M.A. in French from UC Berkeley. Jennifer began carillon study in the spring of 2004. |
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JiYeon
Ku is a graduate student in Chemistry. She received a B.A. in Music and
a B.S. in Chemistry from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Her main
instrument is her voice, and she also plays the piano and the cello.
JiYeon loves both going to and performing in operas and concerts, and
she also enjoys photography, watching Korean and Japanese TV shows,
reading philosophy books, going to museums, and cooking. |
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Judy
Lai is a fourth year studying Business Administration and Economics. She has played piano for 15 years and flute for 7. She is currently the DeCal co-facilitator with Jennifer Pham and is excited to see that so many students have become interested in studying carillon. |
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Sara Malik is a second year student majoring in Political Economy of Industrial Societies. Before studying the carillon, she studied piano for ten years and had a brief stint with the violin. Sara's activities include working for her department's student association and fretting constantly. Her other interests are music history, reading, running, desserts, travel, and museums in general. This is her first semester studying the carillon. |
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Jennifer
Pham is a senior from Long Beach and Garden Grove majoring in Molecular Cell Biology (Infectious Diseases). Jennifer studied piano for about 14 years and violin for 10 years. This is her 4th semester studying carillon. Her diverse interests include stalking Berkeley squirrels, good times, photography, dry ice, learning about the world around her, and sleeping (just like any other college student), preferably under the sun. Jennifer believes that playing the carillon is a challenging and rewarding experience. |
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Johnathan
Ritzi is a fourth-year student majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Spanish Linguistics. He played the violin for about 7 years, has dabbled with the guitar and mandolin, and currently sings in Noteworthy (an a cappella group on campus). This is his third semester playing the carillon (besides the carillon DeCal he took sophomore year). Outside of school and music, he enjoys juggling, unicycling, and skiing. |
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Michael Schindler is a third-year Business Administration major from the San Fernando Valley in southern California. He has studied and performed piano for more than 11 years and is looking forward to his first semester playing the carillon. Michael enjoys basketball, football, lifting weights, Madden, ESPN, eating, poker, listening to music, watching Entourage, and wasting time while hanging out with friends. He ultimately wants to own a business, retire early, and travel the world. |
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Ian
Tan is a second year graduate student in the EECS department specializing in wireless communications for vehicular networks. He earned his B.S. in Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (aka “the middle of nowhere”). Although he generally enjoys the consistent Bay Area weather, he misses hiking through snowdrifts to lab, searing hot temperatures with high humidity, and regular access to practice rooms with Steinway grand pianos. Piano and violin make up most of his musical background, along with a smattering of clarinet. In his non-work non-music time, sleep, “Law and Order”, and contemplating future employment occupy his time. Fall 2007 is his 3rd semester studying carillon. |
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Brian
Tang is not a major who enjoys formulating puns and reading obscure
articles that he shares with similarly minded individuals. His intracurricular
interests span the breadth of knowledge, but he would really like to take
all his favorite classes pass/fail. His other passions are pillow-stuffing
and spinning shaggy dog yarns. This is his first semester studying the carillon. |
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Stanley
Tang is a third year student who hails from the south bay (Sunnyvale to be exact). He is majoring in Molecular-Cell Biology with an emphasis
in Biochemistry. His musical experience consists of eight years playing B-flat clarinet and one semester of beginning piano. Although free time
is a relic of the past for Stanley, his hobbies include playing music, racquetball, sleeping as much as possible, and staring into space during class. In addition to his carillon studies, Stanley is also a chemistry tutor at the Student Learning Center. |
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Andrew
Wetzel
Upon discovering that the universe is a really interesting
place, he decided to find out as much as he could about it, first as
a physics major at Harvey Mudd College (down in sunny, smoggy Los Angeles)
and currently as a graduate student in astrophysics. He finds music
equally interesting (though for very different reasons) and seems to
have a proclivity for pounding on large instruments, be they timpani,
marimbas, pianos, or his recent discovery of massive bells in a large
tower. However, he can occasionally be found more gently playing his
violin, resisting strong desires to constantly play col legno. |
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Robert
Wu is a second-year Chemical Biology student. This is his second semester
learning carillon, after studying piano for about ten years and having
some experience playing the trumpet and french horn. Robert enjoys reading,
sports, and is an avid tennis player. He enjoys being an RA for Unit
3 Norton Hall and doing research with the Department of Immunology. |
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Michelle
Yong
A San Diego native, Michelle studied piano for fourteen years, violin
for five, and has studied carillon for three and a half. Despite despising
music practice as a youngster, she now thoroughly enjoys playing and learning
to play and the thought of learning to play any and all instruments, which
usually means practicing carillon, occasionally the piano and random outbursts
of singing and finger drumming on surfaces. She credits her music teachers
with extreme patience. She divides the rest of her time studying engineering
physics, being the president of the Engineers' Joint Council and a member
of CalJourney Christian fellowship, and hanging out with friends, in the
pursuit of personal spiritual and intellectual growth. As a graduating
senior, right now she thinks an ideal job would incorporate studying and
teaching physics and music and somehow, solving global poverty, all at
the same time. |
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Lu Zhu
In his second year, Lu studies architecture, which kills his free time. From the central coast, his hometown is Santa Cruz, just over the hill. When not in Wurster, he enjoys picking mushrooms, and drinking green tea. He plays piano, carillon as of this term, and loves classical. A hobby of his, if you haven't noticed yet, is writing haikus. |
