DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke University says a musician who played the bells at its iconic chapel at the end of each academic day for over five decades has died. A university news release said J. Samuel Hammond began playing the 50-bell carillon his freshman year at Duke in the 1960s. Hammond retired as university carillonneur in 2018. The bells at the Gothic chapel are played by striking wooden keys by hand and pressing foot pedals, similar to a piano. The keys and pedals control cables that cause hammers to strike the bells, which range in size from 10 pounds to more than 5 tons.
Man who played Duke Chapel bells for 50 years dies
