 Every five years, carillonneurs from the world over converge in Mechelen to compete in the most prestigious carillon competition in history.The school also organizes carillon composition contests and publishes works for carillon, campanological literature, and carillon method books.Prominent visitors to the school include cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the Vienna Boys' Choir, former Hungarian president Árpád Göncz, Russia's first lady Lyudmila Putina, Defense Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov, Michael I and Queen Anne of Romania, American Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Tom C. Korologos, and Her Majesty Queen Fabiola of Belgium.