Since its installment and dedication at Homecoming on October 30, 1920, the Senior Memorial Chime has been a must-see campus landmark on prospective students’ college visits, current students’ Bucket Lists and alumni tours down memory lane.

Housed in the Altgeld Hall Tower, the Senior Memorial Chime consists of 15 bells, which were a memorial gift from the University from the classes of 1914 through 1921 and the U.S. School of Military Aeronautics.

Sue Wood, an environmental chemist, has played the Senior Memorial Chime since 1971. She became Chimesmaster in 1995 when Albert E. Marrien, who had played the bells for 37 years, was designated Chimesmaster Emeritus.

Wood’s interest in chimes began when she attended the University Lutheran Church, which had a 25-bell carillon, while she went to the University for graduate school in 1966.

After taking about a years’ worth of lessons on the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon in Springfield, Wood played Sunday morning services and Wednesday services for three pastors at the church for 32 years.

The Senior Memorial Chime plays from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. The Seth Thomas clock mechanism, a gift of the Class of 1922, automatically rings the chimes to strike on the hours and the quarter-hours. Four of the chimes are involved to play the ‘Westminster Chime’ tune to mark the time.

Another bell tower, located on the South Quad, is the McFarland Memorial Bell Tower. While the Senior Memorial Chime is played electro-mechanically, the McFarland Memorial Bell Tower is played electronically.

While both towers mark the time, the Senior Memorial Chime performs concerts as well. The most common misconception about the chimes is it is all done mechanically, said Michael Gaschler, student chimesplayer and senior in LAS.

Whenever there is music from the chimes that is not telling the time, it is being played by a person. Wood and student chimesplayers perform concerts Monday through Friday from 12:50 to 1 p.m. during the class passing period.

“The bell tower is very present on campus, and at the same time, it’s not something people know about in a serious way,” Gaschler said.

Gaschler has played the chimes since his freshman year. He became initially interested in the bells when he heard them during a campus tour while in high school.

Josh Brickman, senior in Engineering, is a student chimesplayer as well.

“No one realizes you’re the man behind the curtain, that someone is actually up here playing the bells,” Brickman said. “But when you have friends who know and you happen to be up here playing, then they’ll text you saying, ‘Is that you on Harry Potter?’ and I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, that’s me.’”

Brickman has also played the chimes since his freshman year, and became interested during a tour of the bell tower for one of his classes.

One of Brickman’s favorite aspects of the chimes is being able to play contemporary songs for the campus to hear.

To name a few, Brickman has played Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up,’ Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance,’ and the theme from The Office.

He has also played songs by Ben Folds, Billy Joel, the Beatles and the Phantom of the Opera.

The chimesplayers also play many thematic songs.

“If it’s raining, we play like, ‘Singing the Rain,’ or if it’s winter, we’ll play ‘Frosty the Snowman.’ It’s a fun way to get that stuff out there,” Brickman said.

Gaschler enjoys playing the chimes as a way of expressing school spirit. His favorite time of year to play the bells is the wintertime season leading up to winter break.

“I love playing traditional Christmas carols because they sound great on the bell tower,” he said.

During each daily concert, the change ringing fragment and ‘Hail to the Orange’ are always played. Songs categories range from traditional, hymns and anthems, folk songs, to school songs and contemporary music adapted to fit the keyboard’s limitations.

Special concerts are performed on many occasions, such as Quad Day, Homecoming Weekend, the University of Illinois Founders Day, the Illini Union’s anniversary and Commencement evening.

Song requests are also often taken for the daily concerts.

“A fellow who wanted to propose to his girl up there, and he wanted certain songs played,” Wood said. “Sometimes I’ll even find a note stuck in the door saying, ‘Can you play ‘such and such’? Let me know if you don’t have the music.’ So quite frequently they’ll bring up the music.”

Weekday tours are given from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. for anyone interested to seeing the chimes.

“Not many chimes have access the way we do, where people could just climb up and see the bells,” Wood said. “We’re lucky because we have ours where people can just go up and see them without any problem at all.”

Gaschler and Brickman have both greatly enjoyed having the opportunity to play the bells for the past four years.

“It’s been a really cool honor and opportunity to do this,” Brickman said. “I think it’s done a really good job inspiring me, and inspiring a lot my friends I take up here and other people that I’ve given tours to.”

“It’s really something that I’m going to regret leaving behind when I graduate. Hopefully I wind up some place where I can kind of continue this,” Gaschler said.

One aspect of the bell tower both have also enjoyed is its deep campus history.

“The tower is steeped in history. It really is a part of a unique Illinois tradition,” Gaschler said. “It’s really cool to be both involved with it and knowledgeable of.”

“The bell tower is technically the highest academic point,” Brickman said. “Many apartment buildings are taller than it now, but for the longest time, that was sort of the landmark spire that you saw when you came to U of I. Even though the building has evolved from Law to Math, the bell tower has always been there.”