Born in Chicago in 1953, Paul’s early professional formation included music and piano performance studies at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. A graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, his early career as a piano soloist and accompanist began in the Midwest and continued in Sweden, where he lived and worked from 1983 to 1993. While in Europe, his musical work expanded to include composition and choral directing. During this time he also participated in the liturgical life of a Franciscan Friary near Gothenburg, through which he was introduced to the treasures of Gregorian chant and Eastern Orthodox sacred music.

Since returning to the U.S. in 1993, Paul has been a parish music director, composer, and educator: in Chicago’s inner city, in Peoria, Illinois, and in central Massachusetts. In 2017 he became the founding director of the Magnificat Institute of Sacred Music, a non-profit organization dedicated to the renewal of Catholic sacred music. His compositions and recordings have received acclaim throughout North America and Europe, inspiring a 2019 documentary, The Song of the Longing Heart, produced by French filmmaker Francois Lespes.

Paul moved with his wife Anne to Lander in June 2022, and now combines his work as director of Magnificat Institute with his role as Music Director and Composer-in-Residence at Wyoming Catholic College.