Biography of Lynn Michael Trapp
filed with the Trapp Archive, established 2011
Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame
Lynn Michael Trapp was born on May 4, 1963 at Perry County Memorial Hospital,
Perryville, Missouri, the son of Ada Amelia Schnurbusch Trapp (1930-2009) and
Waldemar Louis Trapp (1925-). Lynn is one of three children, with Ken and Kathy,
twins, born in 1952.
Raised on a farm near Apple Creek, Missouri, (southeast Missouri) Lynn attended St.
Joseph Catholic Grade School in Apple Creek. There, at age 8, he was encouraged by
school teachers, nuns and priests to develop his keyboard skills in the church. His father,
Waldemar Trapp played some piano, and gave Lynn his first piano lessons at the farm
home. Lynn’s aunts Julitta Trapp (1911-1932) and Bertha Trapp (1916-1983) were also
raised on the farm homestead and learned piano and organ playing from the nuns at St.
Joseph’s. They served as organist at the parish church: Julitta (1926-1931) and Bertha
(1932-1947).
Later Lynn began regular study with keyboard teachers in nearby Perryville, Missouri,
Crystal Vogel and Terry Edwards.
In the sixth grade Lynn began playing school Masses at St. Joseph’s on the Pfeffer
tracker organ. He also accompanied school plays at the piano. Soon he became a
member of the adult parish choir, along with his parents and played Sunday and feast day
Masses. St. Joseph’s was the place of his baptism and Catholic faith, as it was for most
of his paternal and maternal relatives.
Lynn served the parish as organist 1974-1980 during which the parish choir excelled and
became known for their annual Christmas concert.
As a student in Perryville High School he continued organ study with Terry Edwards,
then travelled to Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri each
week to study organ with Dr. Ray Bradbury and later Dr. Gary Miller, both organ
professors at the university. In 1980 he recorded his first LP record on the Wick’s organ
at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, A Pipe Organ Performance of
Concert and Christmas Music.
At high school Lynn was elected member of the National Honor Society. He received the
Keynote Award for Outstanding Concert Choir member in both 1979-80 and 1980-81
academic years. He developed his talent as high school choir singer and accompanist.
He also taught himself to play alto saxophone and held first chair in the high school
marching, concert, and jazz bands.
In 1981 he graduated from Perryville High School and accepted the offer of a full tuition
scholarship at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale as organ performance major
studying with Professor Marianne Webb. His academic career as undergraduate gained
him membership in honor societies: Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key National Honor Society,
Phi Eta Sigma, and Pi Kappa Lambda.
At SIUC he also received these awards:
National Presser Foundation Scholarship
Robert W. Davis Memorial Foundation Award
Pi Kappa Lambda Outstanding Student Award by unanimous vote of the faculty, 1984
The Music Foundation Award
He was elected to Outstanding Young Men of America
and International Youth in Achievement.
In 1982 he won first place in the Tri-State organ playing competition held in Evansville,
Indiana.
In 1983 he won first place in the American Guild of Organists playing competition in St.
Louis, Missouri. This qualified him to compete in the American Guild of Organists
Regional Convention competition in Denver, Colorado in 1983.
In 1983 he was finalist in the National Undergraduate Organ Competition of Ottumwa,
Iowa. In 1984 he was finalist and first place winner.
This competition was the only one existing solely for undergraduates in the United States.
In 1984 he performed as finalist in the National Organ Playing Competition,
First Presbyterian Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
As undergraduate, in addition to organ, he studied choral music, conducting, voice, and
accompanying. He held the position of organist at First Baptist Church in Carbondale,
Illinois, then as director of music and faculty member at St. Mary’s Seminary
(Vincentian) in Perryville, and as organist for the Shrine Choir at the National Shrine of
the Miraculous Medal also in Perryville (1982-1985).
During high school and undergraduate years he developed a piano and organ studio of
students in Perryville, Missouri, 1977-1985. The students gave recitals in the Trapp
home, and area churches.
He graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Music Degree
in Organ Performance.
In spring, 1986 he moved to Los Angeles, California to study with legendary concert
organist and teacher, Catharine Crozier Gleason. During that time he served as musician
and lived at St. Vincent Catholic Church at St. Mary’s College, Doheny Campus, in Los
Angeles. He also sang in the choirs of Loyola Marymount University under the tutelage
of Paul Salamunovich, conductor.
In 1986, awarded a full graduate scholarship to the University of Notre Dame he began
graduate school there in the Music and Liturgy program. His graduate assistantship
position was assistant organist/director for the Notre Dame Chapel Choir at Sacred Heart
University Church on campus, and co-director of the Camerata Singers. He also
accompanied for the Notre Dame Folk Choir.
As a member of both the Chapel Choir and Notre Dame Chorale, he toured the Midwest
and eastern United States in 1987 and 1988.
He studied organ with Professor Craig Cramer.
At Notre Dame he served as Director of Music for the university summer sessions in
1987 and 1988. He was responsible for Sunday and feast day music at Sacred Heart
Church, summer choir, Liturgy of the Hours, Alumni and Commencement Masses.
At Notre Dame he served as organist for festival Masses at St. Mary’s College.
At Notre Dame he served as vocal coach for the campus sing/dance ensemble,
Shenanigans.
He served as Director of Music for the Center for Pastoral Liturgy National Conference at
Notre Dame in June, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991.
In 1994 he returned to the Conference as speaker.
In 1988 he made his first appearance as choral director and clinician for a regional
convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians in Jacksonville, Florida.
Through the years he has been featured at NPM conventions as conductor, keyboard
and choral clinician, concert organ performer, and committee member as follows.
1988
1989
1991
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Jacksonville, Florida
Long Beach, California
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
St. Louis, Missouri
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cincinnati, Ohio
Stamford, Connecticut
Indianapolis, Indiana
Dallas, Texas
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Washington, D.C.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(elected to the NPM National Council; Chair, Section of Organists)
Indianapolis, Indiana
East Brunswick, New Jersey
Chicago, Illinois
Detroit, Michigan
Louisville, Kentucky (elected to the NPM National Board of Directors)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
In 1988 he graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Masters Degree in Music
and Liturgy.
In 1988 he received the top scholarship for accompanying at the Eastman School of
Music, Rochester, New York and began doctoral work in organ performance there as a
student of Professor Russell Saunders.
At Eastman his assistantship position was accompanist and vocal coach for the Eastman
Opera Theatre. He held the position of Director of Music and Organist at the largest
Catholic Church in the Rochester, New York diocese, St. John the Evangelist Church,
Greece, New York. In addition he was on the staff of the Worship Office of the Diocese
of Rochester as associate.
In 1989 he was offered the position of Director of Music and Organist at St. Lawrence
Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. He left
Eastman for the position and transferred his doctoral work to the University of Kansas
where he studied organ with Professor James Higdon and Professor Michael Bauer.
At St. Lawrence Center he developed a nationally known campus ministry program with
130 collegiate choir members.
He was selected by the United States Catholic Conference as a director of music for
World Youth Day, 1993 in Denver, Colorado. He travelled with 90 of his St. Lawrence
collegiate choir members who were featured as liturgical choir for Masses presided over
by Cardinal Bernadin of Chicago and Cardinal O’Connor of New York. On August 15,
1993 his choir joined the ranks of several hundred others to form the chorus for the
internationally broadcast Papal Mass with Pope John Paul II. Lynn served as organist, a
chorus conductor, and composer of the Lamb of God for the Mass, which was sung in
many languages. Most of the cantors serving the Papal Mass were selected from the St.
Lawrence choirs.
At St. Lawrence Center he directed an Institute for Music and Liturgy Conference held in
1992 and 1993 which featured nationally-known faculty.
He served the St. Lawrence Center until 1994.
In 1992 he became Artistic Director for the newly established Marianne Webb/David
Bateman Distinguished Organ Recital Series at Southern Illinois University which
features an internationally acclaimed concert organist in performance at Shryock
Auditorium each year. He hosts the annual event on campus including a pre-concert
dinner talk.
For three years he was composer in residence at the St. Louis Cathedral, St. Louis,
Missouri. He was an initial composer for the St. Louis Cathedral Choral and Organ
Series published by Morning Star Music Publishers, St. Louis.
Lynn’s career as a clinician and concert organist began to take him to churches,
cathedrals, colleges and universities across the United States.
In 1993 he was a founding member of the Liturgical Organists Consortium, a group of
five concert organists whose mission it is to promote the pipe organ in Catholic liturgy
and concert. The group was founded by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians
and sponsored by Peter’ Way Tours, New York. Eventually the group was sponsored by
World Library Publications/J. S. Paluch, Chicago. Individually and as group the
members performed at conventions of NPM and the American Guild of Organists and
many other venues in the United States. The Consortium produced three cd recordings:
The Sacred Legacy of Paris (winning the national Golden Ear Award presented by Audio
Sound, America’s premiere audiophile publication) Divinum Mysterium, and Chant
Mosaic.
In summer 1994 he accepted the position of Director of Music and Liturgy, Pastoral
Associate at Our Lady of Presentation Catholic Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, the
largest parish in the Diocese of Kansas City, Missouri. In 1995 the Presentation Chorale,
which he conducted, was chosen to perform for the NPM national convention choral
festival in Cincinnati, Ohio. He served the parish until 1996.
In 1996 he accepted the position of Director of Worship & Music, Organist/Pianist at St.
Olaf Catholic Church, downtown Minneapolis, where he serves presently. There he
directs an extensive liturgical program including concert series, television and radio
broadcasts. In 2001 he directed the installation of the new 67 rank Lively-Fulcher pipe
organ, overseeing an entire sanctuary renovation of St. Olaf Church. He inaugurated the
organ in recital on February 2, 2002.
At St. Olaf he has been featured as organ performer with professional ensembles
including Minnesota Sinfonia and the Twin Cities Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra,
and many concert collaborations with the University Choirs from the University of
Minnesota. The concert series has featured internationally known ensembles such as the
Dale Warland Singers, Cantus and numerous concert organists of international stature.
At St. Olaf he founded an annual Conference on Worship, Music and Homiletics
beginning in 2012. He established a church music internship program for a university
student.
In 1996 Lynn received the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Kansas.
He presented his doctoral project, The Legacy of André Marchal in recital and lecture at
St.-Germain des Pres in Paris, France.
In 1996, along with his colleagues Michael Silhavy and Wendy Barton Silhavy,
he established the Archdiocesan Pilgrimage Choir. In January, 1997 the choir made their
first excursion to Rome, Italy to sing for the Papal Mass of the Solemnity of the Epiphany
at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican. There the choir met Pope John Paul II.
The tours of the pilgrimage choir are under the auspices of Peter’s Way Tours, New
York. Early in Lynn’s career with Peter’s Way Tours, he served as leader of choral
conductor groups for several familiarization tours abroad.
Since 1997 the Pilgrimage Choir has performed on tours to:
Italy (Including Mass and other liturgies at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican)
France
Germany
Austria
Poland
Czech Republic
Holy Land
Ireland
England
Spain
Portugal
Turkey
Greece
He served as member of the Worship Board for the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis
for several years.
His organ performances have been heard numerous times on the American Public Media
radio program Pipedreams.
In 2000 he was named Distinguished Music Alumni at Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale and performed an organ recital as part of the university concert series to mark
the occasion.
In 2003 he was named Distinguished Alumni at Perryville High School, Perryville,
Missouri. He served as commencement speaker there in 2004.
In 2000 he founded a nationally-recognized church music conference at St. Mary’s
Cathedral, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Sacred Music on the Prairie. He served as director and
clinician for the annual event in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004.
In 2002 he was awarded the International Spirit and Truth Award from the University of
Notre Dame for his contribution to the field of music and liturgy.
In 2002 he served as judge for the American Guild of Organists national organ
improvisation competition at the AGO convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 2004 he became co-director of the Collegeville Conference on Music, Liturgy and Art
at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. He served as co-director and faculty
for this annual event in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.
In 2005 and 2006 he served as Artistic Director of a new international choral festival in
Krakow, Poland, Cracovia Cantat. He joined the project at the invitation of his long time
friend Saliba Danho, European travel agent and director of GM Travel, Warsaw, Poland.
In 2006 Lynn co-conducted the Twin Cities Archdiocesan Pilgrimage Choir at the
festival.
At the 2005 festival, Lynn was awarded the Medal of Arnsdorf, Austria by the Silent
Night Choir, who participated in the festival, winning first prize.
In 2006 a monument of St. Michael, Archangel was erected at the Shrine of St. Joseph,
Apple Creek, Missouri “in honor of Dr. Lynn Michael Trapp, Bertha Trapp Buchheit,
and Julitta Trapp who served St. Joseph as organist/music director these years: Julitta
(1926-1931), Bertha (1932-1947), Lynn (1974-1980). Bertha and Julitta were daughters
of Mr. and Mrs. Hugo Trapp, aunts of Lynn, son of Mr. & Mrs. Waldemar Trapp, all
born and baptized in this parish.”
In 2007 he debuted as conductor in Carnegie Hall, New York City, where under his baton
he led the New England Symphonic Ensemble and Chorus in a performance of Te Deum
by Otto Olsson. The chorus included many singers from the Twin Cities.
In 2009 he initiated the establishment of the Twin Cities Chapter of the National
Association of Pastoral Musicians and serves as Chapter Director.
On August 29, 2009 he married Karen Calva McMillen in a wedding Mass at St. Joseph
Church, Apple Creek, Missouri. He has a stepson, Logan.
In 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 he served as faculty for the Music Ministry Alive Conference
at St. Catherine’s University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
As composer his keyboard and choral music is published by Oxford University Press,
World Library Publications, GIA Publications, Morning Star Music Publishers, Oregon
Catholic Press, Concordia Publishing, Liturgical Press and Selah Publishing Co. His
commissions have been premiered in prestigious venues including the Basilica of the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, St. Patrick’s
Cathedral in New York, and by professional ensembles such as the Kansas City Chorale.
He has served as adjunct faculty member at North Central University, downtown
Minneapolis, and Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota in conjunction with St. Olaf
College, Northfield, Minnesota.
In 2011 he was elected as one of five members of the Board of Directors of the National
Association of Pastoral Musicians.
In 2011, his career archives were established at Hesburgh Library, University of Notre
Dame in perpetuity.