Marquette carillon bells ring Brewers anthem before World Series berth

Marquette University may have brought some good luck to the Milwaukee Brewers ahead of their NLCS-clinching win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Leading up to Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, the chiming of bells echoed throughout campus as Mark Konewko performed a rendition of "Roll Out the Barrel" on the school's carillon for the first time. The song, also known as the "Beer Barrel Polka," has been played during the seventh-inning stretch at Brewers home games since the team's debut in 1970. On Oct. 15, the Brewers beat the Dodgers, 6-4, sweeping the series in four games. The team now heads to the World Series for the first time since 1982. Marquette carillon only one of three in Wisconsin Marquette University's carillon , at the top of the Marquette Hall tower, features 48 bells cast in bronze. The instrument is complex. It is played by hand and foot, using wooden levers and pedals arranged similarly to a piano keyboard. Larger bells produce lower notes, while smaller bells ring at higher pitches. Carillons are among the world's heaviest instruments. The largest bell on the Marquette carillon weighs about 5,000 pounds, according to the university. Carillons are also rare. The World Carillon Federation estimates there are about 170 traditional carillons in the United States, with only three in Wisconsin, including at Marquette, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Green Bay. The Marquette Hall tower was built in 1923 and was designed to house and project the sound of the carillon. But the school's Paccard carillon wasn't installed until 1967. The university has had only two official carillonneurs: William Geisheker, who played from 1967 to 1998, and Konewko, who has been playing since 1999. Konewko, director of the university's chorus and chamber choir performs different songs on the campus carillon. The university additionally features a carillon guild, a club for students with strong interest in the instrument, and offers a three-credit class exploring the history, characteristics and performances of the carillon for both musicians and non-musicians. Kayla Huynh covers K-12 education, teachers and solutions for the Journal Sentinel. Contact:  khuynh@gannett.com . Follow her on X:  @_kaylahuynh . Kayla Huynh 's  reporting is supported by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and reader contributions to the  Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project . Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit  jsonline.com/support . Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689. The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.