David Childs to perform Independence Day carillon concert

David Childs, a former Wichita State University professor of music theory and composition, will perform an Independence Day carillon concert from noon-1 p.m. Thursday, July 3, from the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum at 204 S. Main.

Childs also served as chair of the school of music at Concordia Lutheran College in Moorehead, Minn.

This is one of five annual carillon concerts sponsored by the Sam and Rie Bloomfield Foundation. Other concerts are at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and Memorial Day. The carillon can be heard throughout downtown Wichita.

Sam Bloomfield was founder, president and chief engineer of the Swallow Airplane Co. The Bloomfields lived in Wichita from the mid-1930s to mid-'50s. They have never forgotten their ties to the city and university, said Robert Town, associate professor emeritus of organ of Wichita State Universityâ€™s School of Music and the carillon concert coordinator.

"There are no others who played a more active role in the development of the city's cultural, educational and charitable resources," Town said. "One of the Bloomfields' significant gifts to the city was the downtown carillon, which is one of the few urban carillons in the nation."
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Contact: Robert Town, (316) 978-6274.