Henry Dehlinger

Henry Dehlinger has gained recognition both as a pianist and as a composer. His compositions, described as polystylistic, have found widespread performances in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Dehlinger is a native of San Francisco who studied piano and voice during his youth. He was taught and mentored by pianist Thomas LaRatta and choral conductor William "Doc" Ballard, artistic director of the San Francisco Boys Chorus, and has been credited both for his success. Dehlinger was also active as a singer during his early years, performing with the San Francisco Opera. He attended Santa Clara University in California, studying piano there with Hans Boepple. He has appeared as a pianist under such top conductors as Riccardo Chailly and Edo de Waart. In the late 2010s, Dehlinger's compositions began to be frequently performed. Many are of modest technical demands, and they have been popular among young singers and choirs at the local level. During the truncated 2019-2020 season alone, 19 new Dehlinger works were scheduled to be premiered, including ten songs, four choral works, two chamber pieces, and three orchestral works. Among these were the Christmas work Hodie!, for mixed chorus, organ, harp, and percussion, and Amore for orchestra, the latter adapted from a vocal chamber work and slated for performance by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Dehlinger's works have been described as polystylistic, and he often incorporates jazz and pop into his work. His 2016 arrangements of Duke Ellington's songs were released on the album Heaven & Earth: A Duke Ellington Songbook. Many of Dehlinger's works involve the voice; his The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, a setting of a poem by T.S. Eliot, was composed for Metropolitan Opera soprano Danielle Talamantes. Dehlinger backed Talamantes on her 2014 recital album Canciones Españolas, and she was also featured, accompanied by Kerry Wilkerson, on At That Hour: Art Songs by Henry Dehlinger, which appeared on the Solo Luminus label.
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