70-foot chimes at Drumfest set world record

Staff report

COLUMBIANA

Universal Percussion — the nation’s largest distributor exclusively of percussion products — is now a world-record holder.

The Columbiana-based company has been officially entered into the Guinness Book of World Records in the category of largest musical instruments for a unique set of wind chimes it created with the help of Treeworks Chimes.

The instrument featured 1,221 chime bars mounted on 21 hand-finished hardwood bars supported by 21 metal tripod stands. The bars were linked with hinges to create a single chime assembly more than 70 feet long.

It was set up Aug. 28 in Firestone Park as part of Universal’s annual Drumfest event.

It wasn’t enough just to create the huge chimes set. In order to be eligible for the world record, it had to be played as part of a live performance — and it was, during Drumfest.

The chimes were erected in a U-shaped configuration that literally wrapped around the Drumfest stage by 15 feet on either side.

The moment of truth came during a performance by The Fuzz, a local band that included Universal Percussion president Tom Shelley on percussion.

During the song “Children’s Fantasy,” a Glass Harp cover, Universal sales representative Leah Yoder started at one end of the chimes and played them nonstop all the way to the other.

A notarized videotape of this performance was sent to the Guinness Book’s publishers for certification, ultimately earning the chimes — and Universal Percussion — the title of “world’s largest wind chimes.” Guinness informed Universal Percussion of its decision Dec. 2.