Donald Trott received his Bachelor of Music Education degree cum laude from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. He obtained both the Master of Music degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of Oklahoma under the guidance of Dennis Shrock. Following degree work he taught at Lawton Senior High School in Lawton, Oklahoma, Rogers State College (now Rogers University) in Calremore, Oklahoma, and Longwood College (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia.

His research in performance practice of the late eighteenth century resulted in two articles published in the Choral Journal and two lectures at regional and national College Music Society conventions. More recently he produced a third article for the Choral Journal based on interviews with Alexander Bernstein, son of Leonard Bernstein. His most recent publication is a monograph sponsored and published by ACDA.

Dr. Trott's choirs from Longwood College performed at VMEA state conferences and in the concluding performance of the 1996 ACDA Southern Division Convention. His choirs toured annually to venues that included the Cathedral of St. Patrick, Cathedral of St. John, the National Cathedral and the White House. At Ole Miss, the Concert Singers under his direction appeared at the 2005 Mississippi State Convention of the MENC/ACDA. On February 24, 2006, the choir appeared at the ACDA Southern Division Convention, and in March 2007, the singers performed at the 2007 ACDA National Convention in Miami, Florida. Dr. Trott is an active clinician, conductor, and adjudicator. In 2010, the Concert Singers were invited to join with LSU and Loyola (New Orleans) and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ken Fulton in a performance of Brahms's Requiem at the ACDA Southern Division Convention.