Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn"

The Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" (Dutch: Koninklijke Beiaardschool "Jef Denyn") in Mechelen, Belgium, is the first and largest carillon school in the world. The Belgian government defines it as an "International Higher Institute for the Carillon Arts under the High Protection of Her Majesty Queen Fabiola." The school has trained many of the foremost carillonneurs of the twentieth century and houses a rich archive and library.

The Royal Carillon School was founded in 1922 by renowned city carillonneur of Mechelen Jef Denyn, in whose honor it was later named, with the support of Americans Herbert Hoover, John D. Rockefeller, and William Gorham Rice. The first institution of its kind, the school soon gained international acclaim and has trained carillonneurs from numerous countries, including Australia, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ghana, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The institution has developed under the successive leadership of Jef Denyn (1862-1941), Staf Nees (1901-1965), Piet Van den Broek, Jo Haazen (1944-), and its present director Koen Cosaert (1963-). The school has made a significant impact on carillon performance worldwide and is the originating place of the Flemish romantic style of carillon composition and performance.

In 1984, the Royal Carillon School established a branch at the Catholic University of Leuven, and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola conferred her high protection upon the school. Later that year, the school introduced the carillon tradition to Japan. In 1986, the school was elected to membership in the Russian Cultural Committee, and the first Russian students arrived in 1992. Another branch opened in Halle in 1991, and additional branches now exist in Roeselare, Ronse, and Peer.

The Queen Fabiola International Carillon Competition was established by the school in 1987. Every five years, carillonneurs from the world over converge in Mechelen to compete in the most prestigious carillon competition in history. The school also organizes carillon composition contests and publishes works for carillon, campanological literature, and carillon methods.

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