When composer and North Dakota native Terry Schlenker wrote "De Profundis," his mind was on solemn things: the sudden death of his uncle and godfather, and the tragic Tuscon, Ariz., shootings of Congresswoman Gabby Gifford and others.
"I am a very emotional composer," said Schlenker, whose work will be performed Friday night at a concert at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Grand Forks. "So I tend to write about thing that I'm going through. For me, music is the deepest form of expression or the deepest language. It goes deeper than words."
Friday night at the Masterworks concert, the UND Concert Choir and Grand Forks Master Chorale will perform "De Profundis," written from a Latin text that means "Out of the Depths."
The concert also will feature the professional FireSign vocal quartet from Denver, for which Schlenker sings bass. It will begin at 8 p.m. Friday at St. Michael's, and tickets will be $15, $10 and $5, sold at the door.
Joshua Bronfman, director of the UND Concert Choir and Master Chorale, was searching the Internet for music for double choir when he ran across a piece Schlenker had written. When he read Schlenker's bio and found that he was from Ashley, N.D., and had studied at UND, Schlenker was commissioned to write a piece for UND.
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Schlenker said he doesn't take on many commissions, but a request from UND was different.
"I'm just really honored," he said. "For me, it's like coming full circle. It's honoring a place that gave me my beginning. It's just a very exciting thing for me to be back here. I have very fond memories of my time here so it's just great to be back and doing this."
After graduating from Ashley (N.D.) High school, Schlenker attended UND from 1976 to 1977 and then from 1981 to 1983 while he worked at United Hospital. He had earned an undergraduate degree in medical technology from the University of Mary in Bismarck and a master of arts in music composition from the University of Denver.
The other side of Schlenker's life is as an embryologist. Schlenker co-founded and for 12 years directed the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, one of the most successful human in-vitro fertilization laboratories in the world. About 12 years ago, he partially retired to focus more time on composing music. While in Grand Forks, he'll also speak about his career at the UND School of Medicine.
"I've always enjoyed having a couple of things in my life in this way that are separate and different for me," Schlenker said. "It's like if one of those things didn't work out, I'd always have something else. Your career is a big part of your identity. Often when people retire they kind of have an identity crisis. It's like, 'Who am I, separate from my work?' So it's nice for me to have a couple of things I'm passionate about in my life."
Schlenker said although he always loved music, he never intended on making a career in music. Being a "starving artist" wasn't that appealing, he said. His medical career has given him the flexibility to make music a "major hobby," he said.
Schlenker began taking piano lessons as a boy, playing the saxophone and playing the organ in church. When he first came to UND, he studied musical composition with Robert Wharton. Eventually, his focus shifted to singing and composing. In addition to Firesign, he sings with the St. Martin's Chamber Choir. His work has been performed all over the world and is regularly heard on National Public Radio.
In addition to "De Profundis," FireSign will premier "Mass for four Voices," also written by Schlenker. Other works to be performed include Timor et Tremor, Laudate Dominum, Brennan's Lullaby, In Monte Oliveti, and Alleluia.
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Reach Tobin at (701) 780-1134; (800) 477-6572, ext. 134; or send e-mail to ptobin@gfherald.com .
