Trinity Remembers Diane Persellin

Diane Cummings Persellin, Ph.D., professor of music and longtime director of Trinity’s Handbell Ensemble, died on December 15, 2024, after a battle with pharyngeal cancer. She was 72.

The eldest of five children of Floyce (Smith) and Kent Barber (K.B.) Cummings, Diane was born in Jamestown, North Dakota, on June 4, 1952. The Cummings were a musical family, and none more so than Diane. Specifically, the power and majesty of the pipe organ captivated her, and during Sunday church services, she and her sisters would rush to the front row to watch Mrs. Pat Unkenholz, church organist, make music not only with her hands but also with her feet.

It was never doubted that Diane's future career was to be in music. She earned a Bachelor of Science in music education from the University of North Dakota (UND) and worked as an elementary school music teacher for three years in Elk River, Minnesota. She returned to UND for a Master of Science in education and then earned her doctorate from Arizona State University (ASU), where her studies emphasized teaching music to young children. While in Arizona, she worked part-time as church organist in a local Presbyterian church and assumed responsibility to conduct their handbell ensemble, a new skill for Diane to master. She also served in a one-year position as a visiting professor in the music department at ASU.

Diane joined the Trinity University community in 1982, making San Antonio her adopted home. She met the man who would become her husband, Dr. Robert H. Persellin, through the San Antonio Chamber Music Society, and they were married in 1986. In 1994, as the director of the Trinity University Handbell Ensemble, Diane helped establish what would become one of Trinity’s most treasured traditions: the annual Christmas Concert, in which the Handbell Ensemble continues to play a large part. And in 1997, in recognition of her service to the San Antonio Symphony, board membership with the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio, and countless volunteer hours, she was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame.

As a teacher-scholar, Diane brought her scholarship of learning and teaching into the classroom and community. Over four decades at Trinity, she authored more than 100 publications on music and education, including co-authoring two books. Students were her pride and joy, and she was especially known for setting high expectations for students while consistently providing support and encouragement. Dozens of her undergraduate and graduate students published studies under Diane's tutelage and were highly sought for teaching positions and doctoral programs.

When advising students she employed the approach of encouraging, listening, and teaching—a process that led to her recognition in 2011 with the Trinity Outstanding Advising Award. In 2017, she was awarded the Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding abilities as a teacher and mentor, the most prestigious faculty award the University bestows. Also in 2017, she was named a Murchison Term Professor, an award that encourages continued innovation in transformational research opportunities. Two of her proudest accomplishments were leading the Handbell Ensemble in performances at Carnegie Hall and at Radio City Music Hall, both in New York City.

Along her Trinity journey, Diane took on numerous leadership roles. She helped lead the development of a Quality Enhancement Plan to improve first-year student success, helped develop and serve as interim co-director of the Collaborative for Teaching and Learning, and served as a mentor for the Arts, Letters, and Enterprise internship at the San Antonio Symphony. She co-founded and directed the Trinity’s summer Orff-Schulwerk music teacher certification program for more than two decades, guiding almost 800 music teachers in using this teaching technique.

Outside of Trinity, Diane was a volunteer education director for the San Antonio Symphony, where she planned children’s concerts, wrote education materials for programs in K-12 schools, and prepared and recruited volunteer docents. She also served as a board member for the San Antonio Symphony and the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio. Diane directed her students to volunteer off campus by teaching or leading music activities to benefit families displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and more recently, at the Battered Women’s Shelter, the Children’s Center of San Antonio, and the University Presbyterian Children’s Center.

Throughout it all, Diane never forgot her roots. She remained a dedicated Christian and continued to serve as a church organist in her retirement. She delighted in international travel, and she and Robert visited many of nature's and mankind's creations together. As well, she still found time to be an active member of San Antonio Road Runners Club and was an enthusiastic bicyclist.

Diane was preceded in death by her father and her sister-in-law, Lanelle Cummings. She is survived by her husband, her mother, four siblings—Beth Osland (Harry), John Cummings (Teri), Sarah Wolbert (Rich), and Jean Dallenbach (Jeff)—her step-daughters Ketura Waskow (David) and Jamie Persellin and their children, and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on February 8, 2025, at 2 p.m. in Trinity University’s Margarite B. Parker Chapel.