Trinity Fan
Biography
Trinity Fan is pianist, composer, educator, and artist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She has been a top prizewinner of several competitions including YoungArts, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Camerata Artists International Competition, and more. In 2025, Trinity won first prize in the Rosamund P. Haeberle Competition, Honorable Mention in the Michigan MTNA Young Artists Piano Competition, and was a finalist in the 2022 Spotlight International Piano Competition, where she was awarded the Audience Prize. In 2024, she was awarded Second Prize in the MTNA Composition Competition. Trinity studied composition with Shuyu Lin, Corey Chang, and Wong Chun Wai. She has also attended festivals in Tanglewood, Amalfi Coast, and the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival.
Previously, Trinity was a student of Edward Auer at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a master’s in Piano Pedagogy and Performance under Christopher Harding, where she is continuing her doctorate studies while studying jazz improvisation with Andy Milne.
Aside from performing, Trinity has taught piano for 8 years. She is a former faculty member of IU's Young Pianists Program and is currently a Graduate Student Instructor at the University of Michigan, and teaches at UM SMTD’s Piano Pedagogy Laboratory Program.
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I started learning piano because my parents wanted me to accompany the church. At first, I disliked practicing. Whenever I saw my dad’s car pull into the driveway, I would quickly sit at the piano and pretend I had been practicing the whole time. I much preferred playing outside with my friends.
Everything changed one day, probably in third grade. While practicing at home, something clicked. I was having so much fun that I practiced for two or three hours straight, and for the first time I didn’t feel jealous of my friends outside. I simply enjoyed spending time with the piano, and from that moment on, I loved the instrument dearly.
My dad opposed my dream of pursuing music for a long time. He wanted me to learn for fun, not as a career, and limited my practice to just one hour a day like a “Tiger Dad” in reverse. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that he finally supported my decision to make music my career. In the end, my stubbornness outlasted his resistance. Looking back, I know his opposition came from care for my future, and it ultimately tested how much I was willing to fight for my dream.
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There are so many composers I admire that it’s hard to pick just a few, and I appreciate each of them for different reasons. Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Kapustin, and Chopin come to mind right away, along with Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Schumann, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Gershwin. Recently, I’ve also been trying to listen more to lesser-known composers, and I’ve been exploring the works of Cyril Scott.
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I feel especially drawn to Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Mozart, and Kapustin. Since I also study jazz, I particularly enjoy playing works that blend classical and jazz, such as those by Kapustin and Gershwin.
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I won’t lie. I can’t name a specific concert where I felt extraordinarily proud of myself. Stage anxiety is something I struggle with and continue to work on. That said, my most recent full-length concert, my master’s recital, was meaningful to me. Although I made mistakes during the performance, it was my first full concert in two years (not counting shorter programs) after emerging from a long depressive period when I had even considered quitting piano.
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Hayato Sumino is my musical inspiration. He is an extraordinary classical pianist and jazz improviser, and I aspire to become as versatile, engaging, and well-rounded a musician as he is. I admire the way he moves so fluidly between genres, and his music-making feels truly golden.
I also deeply admire Bill Evans, a master of harmony and silence. His playing goes beyond tugging at the heartstrings. At times it feels as if he is grabbing you by the collar while gently wiping away the tears flowing down your face.
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I do my best to stay busy with both musical and non-musical hobbies. I enjoy discovering new music, though I don’t usually listen to classical. I used to spend hours on Spotify exploring everything from Korean R&B to jazz, salsa, guaguancó, and more. I especially love Latin American music because I enjoy dancing.
Outside of listening, I like running, creating artwork, composing, and I recently picked up golfing. I also used to read a lot, especially murder mysteries by Agatha Christie and classic literature. Reading is something I definitely want to return to.
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I used to warm up with Hanon exercises growing up, and while I don’t rely on them anymore, I still use them when my fingers feel cold or stiff. Typically, I write out what I want to practice each day and always begin with the sections I find most difficult. Setting clear goals helps make my practice sessions much more focused and productive.
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I am performing Gershwin Concerto in F with the Dexter Community Orchestra in November 2025!
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As someone who was bullied severely growing up, I struggled with self-esteem and carried a deep fear of people. Even through college, I battled depression and had difficulty standing up for myself. It took several years to understand my personal boundaries and to stop basing my self-worth on the opinions of others.
In the midst of these struggles with mental health, however, I developed a deeper appreciation for life and a stronger sense of empathy toward others. These experiences continue to shape me, and I strive to be a positive presence wherever I am.
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I used to watch K-dramas and anime while practicing…
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I feel there is a rift between younger audiences and classical music, partly because of the “elitist” image the genre sometimes carries. I do not believe this mindset is true, and for those who may hold it, it should not exist. Another reason for the divide may be the overwhelmingly long history of classical music, which makes it hard to know where to begin, as well as the traditional format of concerts, which often involve sitting silently for long hours without the chance to interact with the artist.
I love connecting with others, and one way I try to make classical music and the daily life of a musician more relatable is through my social media accounts on Instagram and YouTube. There, I share glimpses of life as a classical musician to show that we are not “special” or “elitist,” but people with everyday experiences. At the same time, I want to highlight the treasures classical music has to offer, without the barriers of fear or disdain for the genre.
I also program concerts to be more interactive, inviting audience participation and including works outside of the traditional repertoire. For example, I sometimes improvise jazz on classical pieces. These approaches help bridge the gap and make the music feel more alive and accessible.
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I strive to have opportunities to travel and perform both classical and jazz music for audiences around the world, and perhaps explore other genres as well. I would also love to collaborate with others, since collaboration is one of the greatest joys of making music. I remain open-minded about what future concert programming might look like, and I am interested in finding ways to both preserve and innovate the concert experience.
As a musician, and as an artist in general, I aim to discover the truth and meaning in the music I play, no matter the style. My goal is to share that love with whoever I am performing for, to move, to comfort, and to connect. Music creates a special bond between the composer, the performer, the audience, and even nature and our surroundings. It is incredible that music exists in so many genres, created by innumerable diverse groups of people, offering infinite treasures of pieces and songs to discover and share.
