William K. Trafka
Director of Music and Organist

William Trafka has been the Director of Music and Organist of St. Bartholomew's Church since 1995. Prior to that, he served as St. Bartholomew's Associate Organist for ten years. His responsibilities include conducting St. Bartholomew's Choir, St. Bart's Singers, the Schola Cantorum and St. Bartholomew's Handbell Choir. Additionally, he oversees the programming of St. Bartholomew's Great Music Series, a series of concerts of choral, organ and chamber music which take place in both the church and the chapel. He also programs and conducts St. Bartholomew's annual Summer Festival of Sacred Music, a 13-week series of great sacred choral music sung as part of the 11 AM service each Sunday during the summer.

As an organist, he has held church positions since he was 11 years old. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where he was awarded the Performer's Certificate in organ performance. His teachers have included David Craighead for organ, Roger Wilhelm for choral conducting and J. Melvin Butler for church music. He has performed on concert series throughout the US and Germany and has also performed with the New York Philharmonic, the American Symphony Orchestra and the Fairfield Academy of Period Instruments.

Paolo Bordignon
Associate Director of Music
and Director of the Choristers

Paolo Bordignon was appointed Associate Director of Music and Director of the Choristers in August 2006. He also enjoys a growing reputation for his own performances of repertoire from the Renaissance to newly commissioned works throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

Paolo's diverse engagements have ranged from recitals at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, to a harpsichord performance at the showing of a collection by designer John Galliano. He was a featured soloist at the opening festival of Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, giving the NY première of Phillip Glass' Harpsichord Concerto with the EOS orchestra. Other recent highlights include a tour with the English Chamber Orchestra, performances with the New York Philharmonic and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and a Juilliard Gala performance with Renee Fleming and Wynton Marsalis.

A member of the International Sejong Soloists, he has performed with Joshua Bell, Kyung-Wha Chung, Cho-Liang Lin, Gil Shaham, Lynn Harrell, and has been heard on NPR, the CBC, and on Korean and Japanese national television. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has collaborated with Elliott Carter, Itzhak Perlman, David Roberston and Bobby McFerrin. He is harpsichordist to Jackson Hole¹s Grand Teton Music Festival and has participated at festivals in Bruges, Zürich, and Aspen.

Paolo earned Master's and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Juilliard School and he is a graduate of Curtis Institute of Music where he studied organ with John Weaver and harpsichord with Lionel Party. He is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music, and he received early musical training at St. Michael's Choir School in Toronto.