Suzanne Toolan

Biography

An internationally known American composer of liturgical music, Suzanne Toolan was born in Michigan, and moved to Hollywood at seventeen. She became a student of Richard Keys Biggs. After earning a master’s degree in the humanities, she began her teaching career. She has directed choirs for high schools, colleges, parishes, and seminaries. While much of the Catholic liturgical music published today is still composed by men, the number of liturgical compositions by women is growing. Toolan's communion song, I Am The Bread of Life, has been translated into more than 20 languages. Published in 1966, it is one of the earliest hymns by a Catholic woman composer in the United States. She is a prominent American spokesperson for the music and prayer of the Taizé ecumenical community. Her book Canticles and Gathering Prayers is a composite of services and canticles written for groups gathered in prayer.