If you’ve ever visited MSU’s campus on a beautiful spring day, you may have been lucky enough to wander past Beaumont Tower at just the right moment to hear the sound of the carillon being played. Nestled in the middle of North Campus, Beaumont Tower and its melodious bells have served as an MSU landmark since 1928. Over the years, the Tower has shadowed many historic events, serving as witness to everything from students demonstrating solidarity to sweethearts seeking sole devotion to one another.
Beaumont Tower is also called home by Tower Guard, one of MSU’s oldest continuously operating student organizations, dedicated to serving the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD). Their second-floor office in the Tower was once the gathering place for all members of the organization, but as their ranks grew, the room became the center of the group's Executive Board planning sessions.
One of these Executive Board members, Maddy Niblock, 2019-2020 Tower Guard Secretary and member in charge of Spartan Study, felt that the organization needed the accompaniment of a song that highlighted the group’s history and importance.
“I noticed that there wasn’t a song. I’m in the Spartan Marching Band, and I’ve always had a passion for music. I play the flute and the piano, so I’ve always focused on music with it being a passion of mine. I know the University has the MSU Shadows as the alma mater, and I thought we needed something,” shared Maddy. “We have May’s Morning Sing, the induction ceremony for the next class, so I figured that would be perfect to have song played at Beaumont Tower and have all the new inductees sing the song for it.”
Maddy, recognizing how beneficial a musical piece associated with Tower Guard would be, brought up the idea to Tower Guard’s Executive Board, and gained her fellow members’ agreement. Excited, Maddy immediately reached out to the Michigan State University College of Music to find a composer, and connected with a recent composition alumnus, Ryan Jones. After helping Ryan to better understand the Tower Guard organization, Maddy presented her ideas of the song to be played on the carillon of Beaumont Tower, and together they quickly got to work.
Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic challenged their plans. As Ryan was finishing up the composition of the piece, they were faced with minimal access to Beaumont Tower due to social distancing measures put in place for safety. Despite all this, during the fall semester of 2020 Ryan was able to complete the piece, entitled We Sing of Beaumont. Ray McLellan, University Carillonneur, and MSU Student vocalist, Claire Kaiser, helped him to perform the song for at Beaumont Tower.
“Ryan has done a great job with not only the instrumental portion, but also the lyrics. He has done a great job of capturing all that Tower Guard does. I believe that I can speak for all of Tower Guard that we are very thankful for the great talent that Ryan Jones has,” says Maddy.
Although a formal introduction of the song to Tower Guard members will need to wait until the pandemic has abated, the Tower Guard class of 2019-2020 hopes that this piece will be a significant contribution to both the history and future of the organization and for MSU.
