ALL IN A
Day’s Trip
Duke Chapel The Duke Chapel is a beautiful icon not just Duke University, but
Another feature of the Duke Chapel are its four organs. These
for North Carolina. The Chapel was completed in 1932 and dedicated
organs are designed to provide a powerful soundscape in the
in 1935. Washington Duke and his family were Methodist, but the
Chapel, but also feature beautiful sounds on their own. The carillon,
chapel is interdenominational.
made up of 50 bells, one of which weighs 11,000 pounds, was a gift
This recently renovated building is one for the community, and has been the venue for beautiful weddings, millions of visitors and world-renowned speakers and musicians.
1930, making it one of the first carillons in the South. The bells ring every weekday at 5 p.m. and on special occasions.
Philadelphia architect Julian Francis Abele designed Duke Chapel,
There also are carillon recitals that are free and open to the
and also designed the entire Duke University campus, a project that
public. The University Carillonneur, J. Samuel Hammond, performs
spanned more than a decade and helped him survive the Great
carillon recitals each week and keeps notebooks of every piece he
Depression.
plays from the Chapel. He has played for over the last 50 years and
Despite his vision and design on the Duke Chapel, he never saw his project in person because, as an African American, he was not allowed on campus during that time. In 2016, Abele Quad was dedicated in memory and honor of his work on campus. Abele Quad goes up north to Chapel Quad with the Duke Chapel looming in the background. There is also a dedicated space in Duke Chapel with Abele’s history and contributions to the Duke community. The 77 stained glass windows in Duke Chapel were the first in the United States to tell the complete story of both Testaments in the Bible. The completed chapel would cost over $30 million in today’s currency with all of its details in the woodworking, Guastavino tile, and the over 1 million pieces of stained glass that went into the interior of the Chapel. Duke Chapel has three choirs: the Chapel Choir, the Vesper’s Ensemble, and the Evensong choir. The Evensong choir is the most recent addition and hosts a traditional Anglican Evening service every Sunday. The Vesper’s Ensemble leads a Thursday evening service. The longest standing choir is the Chapel Choir. The Choir performs every Sunday morning and hosts an annual concert of Handel’s Messiah. This tradition of Handel’s Messiah dates back to 1933. When I was a senior in high school, my aunt and I went to hear the concert, and it was an outstanding performance. It is performed annually during Advent and is a beautiful way to kick off the holiday season. The performance is free to the public. Be sure to check the calendar on the website for the exact date.
80
from the president and vice-president of the Duke Endowment in
began playing while he was in undergrad at Duke. The exterior of the Duke Chapel was created using local stone from the Duke quarry, located near Hillsborough. There are
