John Zdechlik

Zdechlik was elected to the American Bandmasters Association in 1989 and lived in White Bear Lake, Minnesota at his death.

Soon thereafter, a commission from Bloomington Jefferson High School in Bloomington, Minnesota resulted in Zdechlik's most famous work, Chorale and Shaker Dance, which premiered at the Music Educators National Conference in 1972. Zdechlik claimed to have guest conducted the piece over 500 times in his career.

In addition to Bencriscutto, Zdechlik studied composition and theory under Paul Fetler and Dominick Argento. Zdechlik received his Ph.D. in Theory and Composition from the University of Minnesota in 1970.

In 1970, Zdechlik began his tenure at Lakewood Community College (now Century College) in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where he served for nearly three decades as conductor, professor, music department chair, and resident composer until his retirement in 1997.

Thanks to Frank Bencriscutto, Zdechlik's first major success as a composer came in 1969. Bencriscutto had been commissioned to write an original work for the Concordia College Band in Saint Paul, Minnesota, but was too busy to fulfill the commitment. The commissioner, Leon Titus, agreed to have Zdechlik fill in as the composer, resulting in Zdechlik's first major compositional success, Psalm 46.

Zdechlik enrolled as a music education major at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1957. He spent two years teaching at the high school level and one year at St. Cloud State University before returning to the University of Minnesota for his master's and doctorate degrees. While pursuing his graduate degrees, Zdechlik worked closely with Frank Bencriscutto, serving as his assistant from 1963-1970. Following the death of Bencriscutto in 1997, Zdechlik penned Hats Off to Thee, a composition for brass ensemble and timpani in memory of Bencriscutto.

John Zdechlik (Zuh-DECK-lik; May 2, 1937 – May 21, 2020) was an American composer, music teacher, and conductor. Zdechlik was elected to the American Bandmasters Association and many of his compositions became standard concert band repertoire, including Chorale and Shaker Dance.

Zdechlik was the youngest of five children. He was born to a father who emigrated from Poland in 1910, though the surname Zdechlik is Czech in origin. Zdechlik had musical influences growing up - his grandfather was a church organist, his father regularly played recordings of Beethoven and Victor Herbert, and his parents enrolled him in piano lessons at age six. Zdechlik's parents encouraged musical pursuits but did not pressure him.