At the base of Rotary Hill along the Riverwalk stands the Millennium Carillon in Moser Tower, a well-known 72-bell musical instrument that performs concerts year-round. Moser Tower is located at 443 Aurora Avenue, across from Naperville Central High School. (PN Photo, Dec. 29, 2024)
At 11:45PM Tues., Dec. 31, Naperville City Carillonneur Tim Sleep is set to begin playing a few Viennese selections as well as “Try To Remember” from the musical, “The Fantastics.”
Then at midnight, the Great Bells of the Millennium Carillon will announce the New Year “followed by the joyous Royal Peal,” noted Sleep.
“I’ll follow that up with the New Year’s Eve classic, ‘Auld Lang Syne,'” Sleep said.
The concert is free and all are welcomed.
Families and friends are invited to gather at the top of Rotary Hill along the Riverwalk at 443 Aurora Avenue, across from Naperville Central High School, to celebrate the beginning of new things to happen in 2025. Some folks simply park their cars, stay seated and roll down their windows to listen. Still others find convenient locations near the base of Moser Tower to enjoy the choir of the bells.
Recognizing dense cloud cover and dampness all around Moser Tower on Dec. 29, 2024, Sleep provided an explanation.
“The cloud cover doesn’t influence the bells as much as heavy humid air,” Sleep explained. “The heavy air keeps the bell sounds from traveling as far. When it’s a crisp cold night with dry air (and no leaves on the trees) the sound carries a lot farther.”
A little history…
At the base of the Riverwalk’s Rotary Hill, aka “Sled Hill,” stands Moser Tower with the 72-bell Millennium Carillon. The unique, 16-story structure features one of the world’s largest musical instruments. This gift, presented to the Naperville community to commemorate the the new Millennium in 2000, was built through community support and donations collected in the late 1990s. Today, the tower is maintained and managed through a partnership between the Naperville Park District, Millennium Carillon Foundation and the City of Naperville.
After a brief two-year hiatus for tower restoration, the sounds of 72 bell-carillon inside the iconic Moser Tower, named to honor the generosity and faithful community spirit of Margaret and Harold Moser, returned Dec. 31, 2023, to welcome in the New Year.
Beginning in the mid-1980s, whenever enough snow fell, the hill along the Riverwalk became a popular place to go sledding. Kindly take note of the rules for the future fun. Celebrate safely. —PN
