Chimesmaster Chenchen Lu ’23 performs in McGraw Tower. (Ryan Young / Cornell University) Students TikTok-ing Chimesmaster Brings Cornell Music to the World Stories You May Like Minnie to the Max! CVM’s Beloved Mini Horse Is a Big Red Star Alum Launches First Smithsonian Museum Dedicated to Women Bridge Project Connects Student Engineers with ’80s Alumni Sharing Big Red songs and pop tunes, information science major Chenchen Lu ’23 has garnered millions of views By Caitlin Hayes Editor’s note: This has been adapted and condensed from a story in the Cornell Chronicle. Even before she applied to Cornell, Chenchen Lu ’23 was drawn to the Cornell Chimes by the large scale of the instrument, which commands the entire Ithaca campus as its audience. Now a chimesmaster, Lu has greatly expanded that audience by bringing her performances on the chimes to TikTok, amassing a following of more than 140,000 in the last year. “I didn’t expect so many people to be interested in bells or this kind of music,” says Lu, an information science major in the Cornell Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. “It’s been rewarding just to see so many people genuinely curious about the instrument and this raw, kind of weird sound quality that I’ve grown to love. It’s also brought more recognition to the instrument and to Cornell.” Stories You May Like Minnie to the Max! CVM’s Beloved Mini Horse Is a Big Red Star Alum Launches First Smithsonian Museum Dedicated to Women Lu began posting chimes videos on TikTok in June 2021 and went viral for the first time in July of that year, with a movie theme song that now has 1.4 million views. The number of followers on Lu’s account then grew exponentially. The success prompted her to continue posting new songs—answering questions about the chimes in the comments and taking requests. She has played everything from classical favorites, like Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” (2.6 million views), to movie and show theme songs to classic and current rock and pop music, with 4.5 million likes on her posts so far. It’s been rewarding just to see so many people genuinely curious about the instrument. She has also created content answering frequently asked questions about the chimes, chronicled a day in the life of a chimesmaster, and documented trips to other bell towers. Lu says that posting to TikTok motivates her to play more and improve her skills. “I really just like playing,” she says. “We have a library with thousands of songs, and I like to challenge myself with songs that are more difficult and to try to learn songs that people really like.” Top: Photo by Ryan Young / Cornell University. Published September 19, 2022. Comments Dianne Dyson Coles, Class of 1969 27 Sep, 2022 Love this! Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Campus & Beyond ‘LaFeber Posse’ Gears up to Honor Legendary Professor Quizzes & Puzzles Cornellian Crossword: ‘Take a Hike!’ Students For Guiding Eyes Volunteers, it’s a Labor of (Puppy) Love