Carl Flentge Schalk (September 26, 1929 – January 24, 2021) was a noted

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

composer, author, and lecturer. Between 1965 and 2004 he taught church music at

Concordia University Chicago Concordia University Chicago is a private university in River Forest, Illinois. Formerly a college exclusively for parochial teacher education, Concordia-Chicago now offers more than 100 undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and enrolls more t ...

.Carl Schalk
. MorningStar Music Publishers. Retrieved on August 19, 2008 During this time he guided the development of the university's Master of Church Music degree, which has since graduated more than 140 students.Dr. Carl Schalk
. The Luther Institute. Retrieved on August 19, 2008. Schalk was a member of the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship, which produced the

Lutheran Book of Worship The ''Lutheran Book of Worship'' (''LBW'') is a worship book and hymnal used by several Lutheran denominations in North America. Additional hymns and service music are contained in the companions, ''Hymnal Supplement 1991'' and ''With One Vo ...

in 1978. He was also the editor of the journal ''Church Music'' from 1966 to 1980.Carl F. Schalk
Selah Publishing Company. Retrieved on August 19, 2008. Additionally, he was a published composer for Choristers Guild, a member of the Music Advisory Committee of

Concordia Publishing House Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the synod's official monthly magaz ...

and of the board of directors of Lutheran Music Program, the parent organization of the Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival. Schalk graduated in 1952 from Concordia University Chicago (then known as Concordia Teachers College River Forest) with a B.S. in education and proceeded to earn a M.Mus. from the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

and an M.A.R. from

Concordia Seminary Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, Missionary, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Chur ...

in Saint Louis. Schalk is well known for his numerous choral compositions as well as his hymn tunes and carols, which number over one hundred. He had ongoing collaborations with poets

Jaroslav Vajda Jaroslav Vajda (April 28, 1919 – May 10, 2008) was an American hymnist. Vajda was born to a Lutheran pastor of Slovak descent in Lorain, Ohio, where his father, Rev. John Vajda, was a pastor. Vajda's father served parishes in Emporia, Virginia ...

and Herbert Brokering, producing tunes for several of their hymn texts. Schalk's hymn tunes may be found in modern Christian hymnals of various denominations. He is also the author of several books on Lutheran music and hymnody. In 2013, a critical biography of Schalk written by

Nancy Raabe Nancy Elizabeth Miller Raabe (born 1954) is an American clergy member, author, and composer. She is the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. Early life and education Raabe was born in 1954. She graduated from Pomona Colleg ...

was published, and in 2015, a collection of articles and essays about church music by Schalk was released. Schalk died on January 24, 2021, in

Melrose Park, Illinois Melrose Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 24,796. Melrose Park had long been home to a large Italian-American population. The suburb was the home o ...

, at the age of 91.

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* Concordia University Chicago alumni American male composers 21st-century American composers American Lutheran hymnwriters American Lutherans 1929 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American male musicians Concordia Seminary alumni {{Lutheran-stub