.png)
Benjamin LaPrairie
Organist
Benjamin LaPrairie is Associate Director of Music at the National Shrine Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, where he is heard accompanying Daily Masses, Sunday Masses, and many televised Masses throughout the year. Notable liturgies include the canonization mass of Saint Junípero Serra, celebrated by Pope Francis, and the funeralof Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Previously, Benjamin was Principal Organist at St. Dominic's Catholic Church in Washington, DC, and Director of Music at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in St. Charles, Illinois.
As a composer, Benjamin's works have been performed by the Basilica Choir, Brass and Orchestra, and have been recorded and broadcast worldwide on EWTN, Salt and Light Media and CatholicTV. His arrangement of Christus Vincit premiered when Pope Francis entered the Great Upper Church of the National Shrine in September 2015. Recent works include a setting of Ye Sons and Daughters for choir and orchestra of the Basilica, and a setting of Joy to the World for the choirs and the orchestra of the Catholic University of America. As an organist, Benjamin has performed throughout the United States and abroad, and has been featured as a soloist at Pine Mountain Music Fesival and the Kimball Organ at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ . Among his recent collaborations, he performed Louis Vierne's Messe Solennelle at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Originally from Michigan, Benjamin graduated from the School of Music, Theater and Dance at the University of Michigan, where he studied organ with Robert Glasgow. He earned a Masters of Music at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied organ with John Walker, and was awarded the Bruce R. Eicher Prize in Organ. Additionally, Benjamin took graduate courses in music composition and voice at the Catholic University of America.