John Courter

John Edward Courter (June 25, 1941 – June 21, 2010) was an American composer, organist, and carillonneur who served as a professor of music at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, from 1971 until his death on June 21, 2010. A native of Lansing, Michigan, Courter earned a bachelor’s degree in choral music education from Michigan State University in 1962 and a Master’s of Music degree in organ in 1966 from the University of Michigan. He also studied at the North German Organ Academy and held diplomas from the Netherlands Carillon School. Courter was active both as a performer and composer and was considered one of the leading contemporary composers for the carillon, having won several international prizes with his original carillon compositions. Courter also served on the Keyboard Committee, an international keyboard committee, which drafted a recommendation for the technical norms for a world standard carillon keyboard that was accepted by the World Carillon Federation in 2006. Courter’s carillon works have been published in Germany, the Netherlands and the United States as well as performed on carillons throughout the world, and he has composed more than 20 pieces for the carillon, in