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Three of Trinity’s professors participated in the eighth biennial conference hosted by the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning, “Shaping Christian Learning,” earlier this month at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich. For the first time, the Kuyers Institute co-hosted the conference with INCHE (the International Network for Christian Higher Education).
In a session on shaping curriculum, Trinity Professors of Music Helen Van Wyck, D.M.A., and Mark Peters, Ph.D., and Professor of Philosophy Aron Reppmann, Ph.D., led a session on “Creating a Mission-Specific Departmental Curriculum: A Case Study.” They spoke on how the College completed a significant revision of the music major curriculum in spring 2015. The discussion focused on how Christian faith and institutional mission shape curricular design and examined three courses in detail: Being a Musician, Reading and Writing about Music, and Aesthetics.
Peters participated in another session, “Shaping Culture Makers in Music: The Use of Igor Stravinsky’s Poetics of Music in Christian Higher Education,” with Associate Professor of Music John MacInnis of Dordt University.
Learn more about the Kuyers Institute Conference here.
The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) celebrates 42 years of bringing beautiful music to the Southland as it opens the 2019-20 season with Opening Night: Rhapsody in Blue on Saturday, October 19, 2019, at 5:30 pm at Trinity’s Ozinga Chapel Auditorium as part of the Southland Arts, Municipalities and Business Alliance’s (SAMBA) Fall Wanderlust Festival. Maestro Stilian Kirov leads the orchestra for his third season with IPO. Immediately following the concert, the opening night festivities will continue with the Act II Opening Night Post-Concert Celebration Dinner at Midlothian Country Club.
The night opens with the world premiere of Ukko written by IPO’s second Composer-in-Residence and winner of the 2019 Classical Evolve Composer Competition, Martha Horst. Ukko, a rememberance of Horst’s time living in Finland, depicts the Finnish god of thunder, Ukko, in sweeping musical terms. The night continues with Leroy Anderson’s Piano Concerto in C and George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue featuring world renowned pianist, Xiayin Wang, who most recently performed with RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin, Ireland. The concert concludes with lesser known, but highly influential American composer, Walter Piston’s melodic Symphony No. 4.
The night will continue to Midlothian Country Club for Act II Opening Night Post Concert Celebration Dinner beginning at 7:30 pm.
During the Post-Concert Dinner Celebration, IPO’s Board of Directors will present the the Ruth D. and Ken M. Davee Excellence in the Arts Award. This prestigious award honors an individual, group of individuals, or organization whose exceptional commitment, vision, leadership and achievements have resulted in major contributions to the arts and music. The 2019 winner of the Ruth D. and Ken M. Davee Excellence in the Arts Award is Sharing Notes. Sharing Notes is a non-profit organization with a mission to improve the quality of life for Chicago hospital patients through personal, intimate, engaging and uplifting live music performances. Allegra Montanari, Founder and Executive Director of Sharing Notes, will receive the award on behalf of her organization.
Montanari said, “Having the recognition of such a prominent and beloved arts institution as the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra is an honor. We hope that the visibility from this award will give greater awareness for our work and the value of personalized arts programming in hospital settings. We have the warmest gratitude for all who have helped support and allowed us to fulfill our mission for over seven years.”
Concert Single tickets start at $27 in advance. Student tickets are $10. Season subscriptions are still available. Post-Concert Celebration tickets are sold for $100. We welcome everyone to join us in the celebrating the beginning of another successful season of IPO.
To order, or for more information, visit ipomusic.org or call 708.481.7774. The IPO Ozinga Chapel box office opens one hour before the performance on concert night.
Podcasts and Plato may not seem to have much in common at first. But students in Dr. Craig Mattson’s COM 111 class connected “Phaedrus” to today’s communication practices during a field work excursion to 1871 in downtown Chicago, where Trinity is a university partner.
During the day-long trip, students also participated in a larger podcast studio recording with three Chicago-based social entrepreneurs, including Jonathan Brooks, recruiter and mentor for Trinity’s five-year B.A./M.Div. program with Northern Seminary.
The students came prepared for the day, Mattson said. “They did extensive preparation for their podcast production, including planning their conversations and choosing the various production elements. I also introduced them electronically to the social entrepreneurs with whom we’d be doing the paneled discussion.”
The discussions with the social entrepreneurs were also memorable, he said. “The three discussants from Chicago talked about communication and spirituality in their companies. The first two self-identified as atheists; both spoke with great wisdom. I was really pleased to have the students experience post-secularism in such articulate and humane form. The last discussant was Jonathan Brooks, and he was quite simply on fire! He engaged the other discussants really well, seemed perfectly at ease with their different religious standpoints, and yet spoke articulately about the Christian faith,” said Mattson. “I like to expose students to good people with very different standpoints. But I was doubly glad to have a complexly Christian perspective on offer as well.”
Trinity’s relationship with 1871, the world’s number-one university affiliated tech incubator, enhances opportunities such as these. “As a networking experience, it’s great,” said Mattson. “It’s also wonderful as an agreed upon place to meet professionals in a variety of fields.”
Theatre Department will perform “Eurydice,” by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Dr. John Sebestyen, as the Fall 2019 Mainstage Production.
Shows will take place at the Marg Kallemeyn Theatre on Nov. 15, 16, 22, and 23 at 7:30 pm. A post-show discussion, free and open to the public, will immediately follow the performance on Friday, Nov. 22.
“In Eurydice, playwright Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine,” according to Samuel French, the play’s publisher. “Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love.”
“With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual effects, the play is a fresh look at a timeless love story.”
Eurydice, and her new husband, Orpheus are celebrating their wedding near the beginning of the play. But at the end of that scene, things take a turn. When Eurydice enters the Underworld, she discovers a place where the dead have been dipped in the River, in order to forget their previous lives. But Eurydice’s father is there, and has been resisting the water. He remembers his daughter, and takes it upon himself to help her remember him, too. And to remember herself.
The play was written in the early 2000s, and it honors the original ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice while adapting it to the contemporary style of magical realism, where supernatural things happen to everyday people – but those supernatural things aren’t questioned as being out of the ordinary.
One of the ways the play hearkens back to its ancient Greek origins is by the inclusion of a “chorus of Stones” in the Underworld: a big stone, a little stone, and a loud stone. They experience the Underworld with Eurydice and her Father, but also comment upon the story as both insiders and outsiders.
Due to some death-related themes, this production is recommended for audience members of high school age and older.
CAST & CREW
Cast:
Kyli Ayers, Bethany Dadisman, Benjamin Friesen, Ryan Howey, Mateo Perez, Jonah VanderNaald, Bethany VanderPloeg
Crew:
Production Manager: Sam Jankosky
Assistant Stage Manager: Sydnie Tiemens
Production Assistants: Dani Daujatas, Hannah Last
Scenic Designers: Dr. John Sebestyen & Rick Schuler (’08)
Lighting Designer: Larissa Mulder
Sound Designer: Jake Szafranski (’09)
Costume Designer: Machaela Whitlock
Hair & Make-up Designers: Dani Daujatas & Evie Dykhouse
Properties Master: Sam Jankosky
For information on ticket purchases, visit Trinity’s Box Office.
What a weekend to honor Trinity’s past and look forward to the future! Six decades after the first class was held at the new College, Trolls past, present, and future gathered for fun, fellowship, and reflection.
The weekend of festivities kicked off with a gala at the Chicago Hilton Oak Brook Hills Resort, where more than 650 people came together to enjoy each other’s company, along with gourmet food, cocktails, dancing, and lively auctions. Together, attendees raised more than $450,000 for Trinity student scholarships, which included $66,640 to refresh and rejuvenate the Bootsma Bookstore Café!
The weekend activities continued in to Saturday, as alumni and friends “came home” for a day full of opportunities on campus. Heritage Science Center, DeVos Athletics and Recreation Center, Huizenga Memorial Library, and the Art & Communication Center welcomed visitors to an open house experience. The BBC featured anniversary food and drink specials, along with deals on Troll gear and live streams of athletic events. The evening capped off with a special showing of “Toy Story 4.”
On Sunday, the community came together again for a special worship service, with a message by Marc Nelesen ’91, Pastor of Congregational Life at Georgetown Church in Hudsonville, Mich., followed by brunch in the Dining Hall.
“Oct. 1 marked that day when, in 1959, Trinity officially began its operations, starting with an opening Convocation led by Chair of the Board Rev. Dr. Art DeKruyter, followed by the first class–Latin, taught by Dr. Derke Bergsma,” said Trinity President Kurt D. Dykstra. “It was a wonderful weekend filled with great enthusiasm and a sincere gratefulness to Almighty God for the wonderful ways in which he has led and guided us throughout our first 60 years.”
If you missed any of the activities, or would just like to relive them, you can check out one of the videos featured at the gala here, and a photo gallery here.
Are you an employer looking to hire a Trinity student or recent grad? Are you a student or alum on the hunt for a job? Then it’s time for Handshake!
Trinity has recently partnered with Handshake, the college-to-career network with access to all types of jobs and internships posted by partnering employers. According to Jeff Timmer, Director of Vocation & Career Development, Handshake allows for easy posting and searching of jobs and internships. “We’re excited for the ability to implement an integrated platform that is friendlier to both employers and students/alumni–and has greater potential for additional uses on campus,” he said.
Employers, alumni, and students who are interested in learning more can visit www.trnty.edu/handshake to register, log in, or post a job.
Trinity is turning 60, and we have a weekend full of festivities to celebrate from Sept. 27-29!
The events kick off with a gala celebration on Friday, Sept. 27 at the Hilton Chicago Oak Brook Resort, which begins at 7 pm. You can learn more about the 60th Gala here, and enjoy several videos about the event featuring the Dykstras, our First Family.
Saturday, Sept. 28 will be packed with fun family events. Tour dorms and buildings, cheer on the Lady Trolls in a softball game at Schaaf Fields against Trinity International University, and stop by the Seerveld Gallery to view an exhibition by alum and current Trinity professor Kaleb Dean. When you get hungry, swing by the Bootsma Bookstore Cafe for some food and drink specials and check out the latest Troll Nation gear. And the whole family is welcome to a special outdoor showing of Toy Story 4.
On Sept. 29, the Trinity community will gather in worship at Ozinga Chapel Auditorium for a service led by Rev. Marc Nelesen ’91. A complimentary brunch will follow in the Dining Hall. While brunch is free, registration is requested.
Cap off the 60th anniversary weekend with an out-of-this-world concert, “To the Ends of the Earth,” by Southwest Symphony Orchestra, in residence at Ozinga Chapel Auditorium. More information and tickets for SSO are available here.
Please join us for any or all of these great events! For more information visit our Trinity at 60 Weekend website.
Trinity Christian College received the Champions of Character Five-Star Institution award, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced Tuesday.
The award was given to 180 NAIA colleges and universities across the country this year based on five core values: character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. Along with these categories, schools can also earn points through exceptional student-athlete GPA’s and through receiving limited ejections during competition.
For the 2018-19 academic year, Trinity received Gold status and scored 100 points on the Champions of Character scorecard, which is the highest score a school can earn. The Trolls received the award every year since the 2003-2004 academic year. This is only the second time that Trinity earned the Gold award through this program.
“We are proud of and grateful for this recognition by the NAIA. The student-athletes at Trinity Christian College are an exceptional group of young people,” said Mark Hanna, Trinity’s director of athletics. “I am increasingly proud of them, inspired by their talented coaches, and appreciative of the broader Trinity community’s support.”
The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, which Trinity is in, also earned the Five-Star Conferences award. Trinity is the only CCAC school to receive gold status and is one of 63 schools to receive the award altogether.
To learn more about the award and to see a full list of recipients, visit naia.org/champions-of-character.
Trinity Christian College is pleased to announce its ranking among the “Best Colleges” of Regional Colleges—Midwest by U.S. News & World Report for 2020. Trinity was ranked 20th among Midwestern regional colleges in this year’s survey. The College was also ranked among the top 25 “Best Values” among Midwest colleges. U.S. News & World Report also recognized Trinity for its significant number of international students.
“As we celebrate our 60th anniversary in 2019, Trinity continues to provide a rigorous education in a supportive environment where students are taught wisdom and knowledge – and are prepared professionally so that they can pursue lives of significance wherever they are called to live and work,” said President Kurt D. Dykstra. “We are pleased that U.S. News & World Report has recognized, once again, that Trinity prepares our students very well for a world that sorely needs them.”
The U.S. News rankings are based on qualitative and quantitative information in several categories, including peer assessments, graduation rates, social mobility, and faculty information. The “Best Value” ranking considers the ratio of quality to price; percentage of undergraduates receiving scholarships or grants; and average discount.
When the psychology department at Trinity was first established, the practice of psychology was considered inclusive of professional counseling. In fact, Trinity’s psychology program has always trained students with a heavy emphasis on relational and interpersonal skill development.
Over the last few decades, counselors have established a unique professional identity separate from that of psychology. This has led to increasing distinction between the broad study of the psychological sciences and the more applied nature of counseling practice. Here at Trinity, we recognize the distinctiveness of the fields of counseling and psychology while also celebrating their interconnectedness.
To more accurately reflect today’s practices and our program offerings, Trinity has updated the department name from Psychology to Counseling and Psychology. As the Department of Counseling and Psychology, Trinity continues to offer an undergraduate major in psychology serving traditional and adult students and a graduate program in counseling psychology that trains professional counselors. Our faculty is comprised of doctoral-level counselor educators and psychologists with a range of specialties.
“Our new name reflects our commitment to valuing the ways that these fields inform each other’s work, research, and practice,” said Director of the Graduate Program in Counseling Psychology; Associate Professor of Psychology; and Department Chair Kara Wolff, Ph.D. “Ultimately our new name is about inclusiveness. We want to acknowledge the distinctiveness of each of these fields while also working towards our common goal of educating students.”
Click here to learn more about Trinity’s Department of Counseling and Psychology.