Music

MUSIC AT TRINITY

Music



Trinity Choir 
        Since 1947, the Trinity Choir has sung to the Glory of God and in service of the congregation. The choir meets every Wednesday at 7:30pm in the Genevieve Collins Choir Room. They sing a diverse mixture of classical and contemporary repertoire.

Trinity Chamber Choir 
      Our professional choir, made up of students from Louisiana State University.  

Morning Glory Choir and Band 
 Since the 1990s the Morning Glory Choir and Band has provided another way of music making at Trinity. Since 2021, the group has played for the Second Sunday of every month. Currently the band features Dámaris Albrecht on piano, Tom Guidry on guitar, and Jacob Gartenstein on percussion.


The Eberhart Memorial Organ
Casavant Op. 2527 (1959)

      Our founding music director was Genevieve Cox Collins (1912-2008). Genevieve grew up in Lecompte, Louisiana, and completed her initial organ studies at LSU as the first organ major in the music department. In the 1930s Genevieve and her husband Frank Collins, Jr. (1903-68), also an organist, moved to Paris to continue their organ studies. Genevieve studied under the famous titular organist at Notre Dame, Louis Vierne (1870-1937). Vierne, a virtuoso who was blind from birth, was also a renowned teacher whose students included Nadia Boulanger and Maurice Duruflé. Frank studied with famed organ virtuoso and composer Marcel Dupré (1886-1971). In 1939, Dupré chose Frank to perform the premiere of one of his new organ works. Upon returning to Baton Rouge, the Collins’ would become founding members of the first congregation of Trinity in 1947. They also founded the Baton Rouge chapter of the American Guild of Organists.  
      In 1958, a donation by the family of Wilford Malvern Eberhart led to the commissioning of a new great organ. After a listening tour, Frank was struck by the work of Canadian organ builder Casavant-Frères and chose them. He drew the specifications for the organ himself in consultation with Casavant Vice President J.E. Ledoux and tonal director Lawrence Phelps. Casavant is renowned to this day for their excellent craftsmanship and the tonal beauty of their instruments. The Eberhart Memorial Organ was dedicated on June 9, 1959. It is a three-manual and pedalboard instrument with 48 ranks and a total of 2,955 pipes. It was originally built with electro-pneumatic action, but this was replaced with solid-state electric action in 2017. It was the 2,527th commission completed by Casavant, and thus it is referred to as Op. 2527. 
The tone of the organ is unchanged from its original construction. From the program of the dedication service:

"This organ is voiced in the classic style and has reeds of the type found on the famous French organs. The slightly nicked pipe cause them to speak with a chiff or 'chirp'. This makes for clarity and even a bell-like quality in some of the flutes. "

           The organ is considered to be one of the finest extant examples of the early work of Lawrence Phelps. It has drawn internationally renowned organists to Trinity: Jean Langlais in 1964, and Olivier Latry in 2003. 

For more information about the organ, please click here


(events are free and open to the public with receptions following)

April 22 at 7:30pm, Hayato Tanaka, Principal Trumpet of the Tucson Symphony in Recital
April 24 at 7:30, Trinity Choir performs Holst: Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda
April 28 at 3:30pm, Students of the Baton Rouge Conservatory




For more information, click here to contact Sam
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