"This opportunity is, without a doubt, the highest compositional honor of my life."

-Dr. Rene Clausen

Memorable Music Maker

A one-time tribute to Sept. 11 victims has gone far beyond its original intent.

Today, "MEMORIAL" continues to inspire audiences across the country during live performances and on CD. Dr. Rene Clausen, The Concordia Choir conductor, wrote the 30-minute piece as a commissioned composition for The American Choral Directors Association. The work is a tribute to the victims of Sept. 11.

"This opportunity is, without a doubt, the highest compositional honor of my life," Clausen says.

The Concordia Choir and The Concordia College Orchestra premiered "MEMORIAL" at the association's national convention in New York. Since then, "MEMORIAL" has reached audiences across the United States, including Billings, Mont., Appleton, Wis., and Carnegie Hall.

Clausen, a nationally and internationally renowned composer and conductor, has written more than 50 commissioned compositions. In addition to directing Concordia's top choir and serving as the artistic director of the award-winning Concordia Christmas Concerts, Clausen is a frequent guest conductor and guest composer around the world. He recently conducted the F-M Symphony and 90-voice chorus performance of Brahms' "Requiem" in Moorhead. Presently, Clausen is writing a commissioned piece for an international festival chorus and the Empire Brass to premiere June 9, 2006, in Paris.