Roger Walker, Norwood’s Blind Carillonneur-June 3, 1954

Roger “Zeke” Walker, Blind Carillonneur, Performs 19 Concerts a Year from the Locked Tower of Norwood Town Hall

High above the bustle of Norwood Center, behind a locked door leading to the tower of the Norwood Town Hall, one of the most remarkable musicians in America performs nearly twenty concerts a year. He is Roger T. “Zeke” Walker of Hyde Park—the only blind carillonneur on this continent, and quite possibly the only one in the world.

The door is locked for a reason. When Walker plays the 50‑bell Norwood carillon, he does so wearing only shorts, socks, and shoes. The work is physically punishing; each performance costs him nearly two pounds in perspiration and exertion.

“If I’m expecting visitors, I dress,” Walker said with a grin. “But visitors tend to watch what I’m doing rather than listen to the effect I’m getting. The best place to hear a carillon is about 200 yards away. Up here, it’s hard work—and since it’s played with both hands and feet, you need freedom of movement.”

A Demanding Instrument

Walker’s hands bear the proof of his labor. The outer edges of his little fingers are thick with callouses, despite the tape he wraps around them. A carillon is played not with fingertips but with the side of a half‑clenched fist, striking wooden batons that resemble oversized organ keys. Each baton is connected by wires and cranks to the clappers inside the bells.

The clapper of each bell strikes the interior near its widest diameter and needs to travel only an inch to unleash the full voice of the instrument. The heavier bells are connected to foot pedals, allowing Walker to play with both hands and feet simultaneously.

The largest bell in the Norwood carillon weighs 7,840 pounds, and its clapper alone weighs 162 pounds.

A Veteran of the Great Carillons

Walker has played some of the world’s most famous carillons, including the massive instrument at Riverside Church in New York, which boasts 72 bells. Its heaviest bell weighs 40,926 pounds, struck by a clapper weighing two tons. There, the pedals are assisted by an electro‑pneumatic motor.

“Norwood’s carillon is entirely manual,” Walker noted with pride. “Small carillons have two octaves; the largest have about four.”

Master Piano Tuner to the Greats

When he is not in the tower, Walker earns his living as a piano tuner, and not just any tuner—some of the world’s greatest pianists request him personally.

The legendary Vladimir Horowitz once told him: “Mr. Walker, I want my piano at exactly 440. Hit it hard when tuning. I hit it hard, and I don’t want to destroy your tuning job.”

A Life of Music and Perseverance

Affectionately known as “Zeke,” Walker studied piano and organ at the Perkins Institute, where he also learned piano tuning. Later, he continued his studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, and then spent three winters in New York studying under the celebrated Kamiel Lefèvre, who dedicated the Norwood carillon in 1928 and now plays at Riverside Church.

Walker was born with almost no sight. “I’ve had nine eye operations,” he said. “Back in 1910 or 1911, they said I had 1‑200th of one percent sight.”

He graduated from Perkins in 1919 and now lives with his wife and two daughters at 18 Mt. Pleasant Street, Hyde Park.

“How do I get around?” he said with a laugh. “I get around by guess and by gorry.”

A Hidden Artist Above the Town

Few who walk beneath the Town Hall tower realize that the music drifting over Norwood comes from a man who cannot see the bells he plays, yet commands them with unmatched skill. His concerts—nineteen each year—are a blend of artistry, endurance, and devotion to a craft few can master.

Behind the locked door, high above the town, Roger “Zeke” Walker continues to give Norwood one of its most distinctive and cherished sounds.