Carillonneur at Maastricht, Weert and Heerlen, The Netherlands
Frank Steijns is violinist, composer, and the carillonneur of Maastricht, Weert and Heerlen (The Netherlands). He is known for his innovative concerts featuring carillon together with other instruments like piano, organ, choir, orchestra, ballet and even heavy metal bands. He plays a wide range of music, from pop and jazz to classical and avant-garde.
His goal is to bring the carillon to the people, instead of the other way around. He designed his own mobile carillon of 43 bells that can be assembled indoors or outdoors, in any room, concert hall, or space. It is the first carillon in the world to use dynamic electronic clappers, thus allowing it to be played both manually as electronically in the same way as a traditional carillon. This instrument was part of a large exhibition by Turkish artist Sarkis at the Submarine Wharf for the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam. In 2013, he took the carillon on a world tour to more than 100 major cities on all continents, playing for 1.5 million audience members with the orchestra of Andre Rieu.