The basement of the Margarite B. Parker Chapel has been the home to the Trinity Handbell Ensemble since its inception in 1977. Passing by the classroom, you will see handbells of various sizes and sounds laid on a red tablecloth, and Diane Persellin, professor of music education, played a pivotal role in it.

Persellin arrived at Trinity in 1982 and grew in her roles as the director of the handbell ensemble and as a professor of music education. Persellin was the director of the Trinity Handbell Ensemble for 42 years and died on Sunday, Dec 15. from pharyngeal cancer. She was 72 years old.

There is a memorial service on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. in the Margarite B. Parker Chapel. At the ceremony, the congregation is invited to softly ring a bell in her honor during the fourth verse of “How Can I Keep From Singing,” sung by a soloist and accompanied by the Trinity Handbell Ensemble. This creates a wind chime effect and will serve as a tribute to Persellin’s passion for music and the handbell ensemble at Trinity.

Some of her most recent students remembered what it was like to be around her and in her ensemble. Haniel Neves, senior organ performance major and two-year handbell ringer, recalled his reasoning for joining. He remembered Persellin’s professionalism and kindness.

“She knew how to interact with people in a way that’s personal and down to earth and not degrading in any way,” Neves said. “The small interactions that I had with her over time really built up, and I really grew to love her very much.”

Many former students remember Persellin for her kindness, passion and positive attitude. Christine Stratton, Trinity masters of teaching alumna ‘95, kept in touch with Persellin after her time at Trinity and met up with her while visiting San Antonio.

“Diane was like an angel in my life. I still can’t believe she’s gone,” Stratton wrote in an email. “We have met for lunch, dinner or coffee so many countless times when I’ve visited San Antonio for music conventions, it’s really going to be hard not to pick up my phone and text or call her every time I go.”

Persellin accomplished much with the choir, from a handbell cruise to a performance at Carnegie Hall in 2019. Rachel Daniel, Trinity ‘20 alumna and four-year handbell ringer, played with the ensemble. They opened for the Radio City Rockettes in 2019 and played in Central Park. Daniel attributed Persellin’s many achievements to her wishes for the ensemble.

“She dreamed so much bigger than anyone could ever dream,” Daniel said. “I know she had such an amazing time, it was truly an honor to get to participate in that, especially as an alum of the program.”

Persellin taught and mentored many students, and all of them had different goals for the choir. In 1984, the current class of handbell students proposed the idea of going on a Carnival handbell cruise to Persellin. Maria Raper, Trinity alumna ‘86 and four-year handbell ringer, went on the cruise and appreciated Persellin’s trust in the ensemble.

“When you play with an organization that was as amazing and magical as what she provided, I know I’ll never have that experience again,” Raper said. “She was hard on us, but she believed that we could be the best.”

Persellin’s beliefs and expectations for her students remained consistent throughout the years. Faith Perry, second-year master of education student and two-year handbell ringer, remembered a time when Persellin had her play a challenging piece.

“She was really confident that I could do it, and I did not have that confidence in myself,” Perry said. “She really, truly cared about her students, you could tell, and that helped us all come together as a handbell ensemble and as a team.”

The handbell choir is open to all majors and ringers are chosen by an audition. Heather Jones, Trinity ‘07 alumna, wasn’t a music major, but she stayed in the choir for all four years.

“A big part of it was Dr. P, she made it fun to keep doing it,” Jones said. “She made it a rewarding activity still to do, and something that I wanted to keep doing during my experience.”

Other students enjoyed their time in the Handbell ensemble too. Tom Dietzel, Heather Jones’s husband, alumnus ‘06 and four-year handbell ringer, remembered other students staying for four years as well.

“We didn’t have a lot of turnover from year-to-year,” Tom Dietzel said. “Most people in there were almost always in there for the full four years.”

Although unknown to Persellin at the time, some stand partner relationships she formed in the ensemble ended in marriage. Jones and her husband were stand partners in the handbell choir.

“[Dr. Persellin and I] did keep in touch periodically online so there was a chance where I was able to say ‘Hey, by the way, we’re getting married,’” Jones said. “She very much did get credit for that, and it was a nice thing that we got to share with her.”
Students may know Persellin from her work as the director of the handbell ensemble, but she also made significant contributions to the music education community in San Antonio. Persellin co-founded the Orff-Schulwerk music teacher certification program for teachers to do extended professional development in 1998 and taught them every year until 2024.

This program is highly renowned in the community of education and Persellin was at the start of its creation. Chelsea Short, 2011 masters of education alumna and San Antonio elementary school music teacher, recognized Persellin’s impact on the music community.

“By creating those courses, she’s made San Antonio and Texas a place to be for elementary music ed,” Short said. “She’s made sure that Trinity was always a focal point for those workshops, and ideally, will continue to be, because of her legacy.”

Persellin was a musician and a passionate educator for people of all ages. Lindsey Farley, Trinity masters of teaching alumna ‘21, was Persellin’s advisee as both an undergraduate and graduate student. Persellin mentored Farley beyond her college years and Farley recalled a memory of Persellin teaching a model lesson to three to five-year-olds.

“She was so animated and the kids were just enraptured by her. She infused passion and vigor in everything she did and had such a joyful presence when she taught, especially so when she taught younger students,” Farley wrote in an email.

Persellin’s character and impact reached not only her students, but her colleagues as well. Carolyn True, professor of music, has been at Trinity since 1990, and said Persellin made her first days at Trinity positive.

“She immediately welcomed me. The first weekend that I was here, in the midst of faculty orientation, she and her husband took me out tubing down the Guadalupe,” True said. “It was immediately not only making me feel comfortable and welcome as a colleague, but also as a friend and a fellow human being. She was wonderful.”

Persellin helped establish Trinity’s Christmas concert in 1994 as a way for Trinity to give back to the San Antonio community. Persellin bridged the gap between the Trinity bubble and the larger San Antonio community through music education and volunteer work. In 1997, she was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in recognition of her work with the San Antonio Symphony and the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio.

Her outreach work spread through the walls of every classroom she taught. Gary Seighman, chair of the music department and director of choral activities at Trinity, met Persellin upon his arrival at Trinity in 2009. He recognized her hard-working spirit and her ability to connect students to opportunities outside of Trinity.

“She did so much stuff behind the scenes,” Seighman said. “I think for years, we’re going to be still realizing how much of an influence she’s been and the legacy she’s made not just on the music department, but on the whole university and in San Antonio.”

During Persellin’s challenges with cancer, she remained involved and present with the handbell choir and in her students’ lives. Ricky Juarez, senior music and communication double-major who was in the handbell ensemble for five semesters, remembered rehearsals with Persellin while her physical health was declining.

“Even in that state, she still commanded the room,” Juarez said. “You could tell that everyone respected her and was just in awe of her dedication to that ensemble, and her dedication to her passion, her craft there, which is to create beautiful music.”
In addition to her passion for music, many of her students recalled her determination and resilience. Short recalled a memory with Persellin when she helped her secure her dream job after finishing her masters program.

“She was a mover and a shaker. She is the kingmaker, where there is nothing she won’t do for somebody. And when she sets her mind to something, she gets it done,” Short said. “She just was just so selfless in that way.”