Tracy is a native of Washington, DC but spent much of her youth outside the United States, living for a number of years in Khartoum, Sudan; Tokyo, Japan; and Taipei, Taiwan. Although voice is her first instrument, she also enjoys playing piano, organ, guitar and percussion in addition to composing and working with liturgical choirs; she has been active for more than 40 years in the metropolitan DC area as a pastoral musician and ensemble director. She served from 1991 through 2021 as Pastoral Associate for Liturgy & Music at St. Camillus Franciscan Community in Silver Spring, MD, where she developed extensive multicultural repertoire and experience, including the production of two multicultural CD recordings, Soli Deo Gloria (2004) and Beati Pacifici (2010), which can be heard via her website (tracymcdonnell.com) along with many of her original compositions and arrangements. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Maryland (College Park) in 1989 and her Master's degree in Liturgical Music from the Catholic University of America in 1995, and was particularly honored to have been invited in 2008 to form and direct the primary intercultural ensemble for the Papal Liturgy on the occasion of Pope Benedict’s first visit to Washington, DC, and again in 2015 for the Canonization Mass on the grounds of the National Basilica, with Pope Francis presiding. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve at St. John’s and looks forward to a rich and fruitful collaboration in ministry.