He began teaching himself to compose and play piano at the age of seven and soon demanded operatic scores as gifts for Christmas. At eleven, he entered the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris as one of its youngest students, and excelled as both an instrumentalist and composer. After graduating, he was appointed as the principal organist of Église de la Sainte-Trinité (The Church of the Holy Trinity, or "La Trinité") in Paris in 1931. A devout Catholic his entire life, Messiaen held this post for over 60 years. Along with his works for orchestra and solo piano, Messiaen's compositions for organ represent a major portion of his creative output. Regardless of instrumentation, however, nearly all of Messiaen's music is explicitly religious, or devotional.