Campus Says Goodbye to Mr. & Mrs. Grimm

At the close of the year at Thomas Aquinas College, New England, the student choir offered a bittersweet goodbye to Stephen Grimm (’75), who completed five years as the campus’s music director, and his wife, Laura. 

After the choir’s final weekly rehearsal, Dean Steven Cain graciously hosted the choir for dinner at his home. There, he raised a glass to Mr. and Mrs. Grimm, thanking them for their years of service and sacrifice to Thomas Aquinas College. “Through promoting and upholding a culture of excellent music, the Grimms have brought so much beauty to campus,” said Mr. Cain. “Mr. Grimm puts in so much hard work for each performance, whether for weekly Sunday Mass or a stunning concert. In everything he does, he shows a clear participation in the common good.”

“Mr. Grimm puts in so much hard work for each performance, whether for weekly Sunday Mass or a stunning concert. In everything he does, he shows a clear participation in the common good.”

The fifth of 17 children in a famously musical family, Mr. Grimm joined Thomas Aquinas College’s first class in 1971 “kicking and screaming” before falling in love with the curriculum and community life. While a student, he and his siblings helped form the musical culture and traditions the College still upholds to this day. After graduating in 1975, he went on to study piano and opera at California State University, Northridge and Los Angeles, direct various church and school choirs, and perform with the L.A. Master Chorale as well as in many movies. He has written countless hymns, choral settings, and many other pieces of music.

In 2020, Mr. and Mrs. Grimm retired from their jobs in California and moved across the country to help build the College’s music repertoire once again — this time, on the recently opened Northfield, Massachusetts, campus. Over the next five years, the pair became staples of the TAC-New England community, offering their time and talents to the student body.

“The music culture, both here and on the California campus, was largely shaped by Mr. Grimm,” says Andrew Le (’25). “We all benefited greatly from everything he did for the student body these last few years. His presence on campus will be missed.”

Mr. Grimm directed the student polyphony choir, the men’s Schola Gregoriana, and the student orchestra. He also played piano and organ for Masses, concerts, and Open Mic Nights; offered private lessons in voice and piano, and conducted the campus’s children’s choir. During his five years in New England , he introduced the Advent Lessons and Carols tradition, conducted many large-scale student choir and orchestra concerts, and directed two operas: Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in 2021 and Mozart’s The Magic Flute in 2023.

Following their departure, the Grimms plan to retire to South Carolina, living close to one of their sons and his family. Though no longer working in an official capacity, Mr. Grimm will continue to pursue his many artistic talents: painting, writing poetry and literature, and — of course — composing music. “He’s a creative machine — he can’t be stopped!” says Mrs. Grimm. “No matter what happens, he will continue to create art of all kinds.”