Arts in the Community

At Trinity, the arts are more than a career field: they are a limitless set of opportunities for the University to connect to—and promote positive change in—the surrounding community.

Since more than 25 percent of its student body participates in musical ensembles or other performance arts, many Trinity graduates become musicians, performers, designers, and other creative types. As they venture out into the world, these individuals become passionate advocates for the power of the arts.

Music

Trinity’s music ensembles, which include choirs, orchestras, wind ensembles, and many others,  have been featured on television, radio, and frequent tours throughout the United States and abroad. The Trinity Choir is one of Trinity’s oldest student organizations, dating back to the late 1890’s, and is also the largest student ensemble on campus.

But Tigers don’t have to be professional musicians, or even music majors, to perform at a high level, says David Heller, professor and chair of the music department.

“What makes Trinity unique is that all students are able to participate in music, at whatever level they want,” Heller says. “If you look at the roster of our ensemble, 95 percent of them are from outside the music department. Even if they’re going off into economics or physics or engineering: Those are the people we need sitting in our choirs, strengthening the cultural life of the world.”

Beyond the performance accolades, ensembles like Trinity’s choir have used music as a powerful healing tool. During a recent trip to Austria, the ensemble was able to provide an amazing opportunity for student David Spindel ’22 to perform in front of his Austrian grandmother, Erica Spindel. Erica, from a Jewish family, had previously been forced to flee the country before World War II due to the Holocaust; the Trinity performance served as the Spindel family’s first opportunity to re-unite in the country.

“It was special to be able to sing in front of my family, and especially in front of [my grandmother] at such an important venue,” David says. “Coming to Austria, where quite a few classical composers have made works...and to have Austrian heritage, that’s really special to me that (my grandmother) came from the same place as these composers, and I can sing in this place.”

Trinity students have also supported groups outside of Trinity’s ensembles. The choir regularly performs alongside the San Antonio Symphony, for example. And the Arts, Letters, and Enterprise program has placed students in research internships at the symphony, giving the organization crucial staffing support.

Visual Arts

Trinity’s Neidorff Gallery is the campus’ most prominent connection to the local art scene. Through four annual exhibitions, including student-developed shows, students gain hands-on experience in all aspects of gallery management. The Art Gallery supports the educational mission of the Department of Art and Art History by bringing a diverse array of original works of art to campus, including exhibitions coordinated with the Stieren Arts Enrichment Lecture Series, which hosts internationally established artists and scholars.

Trinity also hosts an outdoor studio class with art professor Elizabeth Ward, who takes her students outdoors and off campus to create around the city. “Quite a few alumni have told me that this was their favorite course at Trinity,” Ward says. The students have set up their easels in parks, streets, and even around some of the historic San Antonio missions.