Living History: Anna Berman

My defining moment at Trinity

A moment that captures Trinity… It was a random autumn night after formal hall, and Hugh Hunt plucked me and Aled Walker out of the Parlour to sight-sing a Byrd three-voice Kyrie with him.  After we tried it out in his room, he then announced that we should sing it in the Chapel. I’d never been in at night when it was empty and still. To sing in that space and hear the harmonies hanging in the air there was simply magical.  In that moment, I felt a sense of belonging to this place, and I think just the idea that I was part of this College added to the magic.

I am grateful to all the women who came before me at Trinity and whose advocacy of women at the College made it possible for me to arrive and feel so instantly welcomed and a part of the fellowship.

Anna A Berman is a scholar of Russian literature and Assistant Professor at McGill University. She is a Senior Visiting Fellow Commoner at Trinity this year.