March 17, 2003
Faith finally rings true for Yugoslavian musician
___By Toby Druin
___Editor Emeritus
___Darko Velichkovsky received a standing ovation from the Singing Men of North Central Texas after he played "My Tribute" on the clarinet.
___"Darko employs extreme ranges on the clarinet, but not in shrill or harsh ways," said Don Blackley, minister of music at First Baptist Church of Richardson, and director of the Singing Men, who rehearsed and performed at First Baptist Church of Irving Feb. 13. "Our men were very impressed with his playing and with his spirit; he has a sweet spirit. He has such artistry and great musicality. He could be the lead clarinetist in any major symphony."
___That's high praise for a man who grew up as a communist and once sneered at the quality of Christian music.
Darko Velichkovsky
___Darko is a native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. His parents were atheists and raised him to celebrate accomplishment.
___At 15, however, a chance meeting with a Mississippi couple in a coffee shop began to turn his life toward Christ, even though it took him several years to complete the journey. He volunteered to guide the couple, Kelly and Jean Travis of Jackson, around Belgrade so he could hone his English. He gave them a recording of his clarinet work at the end of the tour.
___Two years later, he was surprised when Travis called one day to tell him he had arranged a music scholarship for him at a Louisiana university. Darko explained that he couldn't leave Yugoslavia, that he was turning 18 and would have to serve a year and a half of compulsory military service.
___"He said he would call back in 18 months," Darko said. "Frankly, I forgot about it, but 18 months later my telephone rang, and it was Kelly."
___"My parents sold an old piano and almost everything they had to get me a ticket to the United States," he said.
___The ticket was to Houston, he said, "because on the small map of the United States I had, it was only about an inch from Jackson."
___Nevertheless, the Kellys picked him up at Houston, brought him to Jackson, and Darko found himself immersed in southern Christian culture. The Kellys had Bibles in every room, "even the bathroom," Darko recalled.
___"I had studied the Bible in anthropology classes," he said, but he never considered reading it.
___He attended First Baptist Church of Jackson, and rather than finding a "delusional, irrational people" there, "I found such a feeling of warmth, of love, of belonging in a place where I had never been," he said.
___During the 18 months that had elapsed while he was in the military, the Travises had arranged for Darko to interview with the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. But one evening following clarinet practice, he read over his visa papers and found a provision that he had to be enrolled in college 30 days after entering the United States or face arrest and deportation. It was the 29th day.
___He and the Kellys rushed to New Orleans that evening so he could plead his case to immigration authorities the next day. That night, however, the hotel where they stayed hosted a jazz festival and Darko, whose training was in classical and jazz music, joined the other musicians for an all-night jam session.
___The next day at the immigration office, he said, he was advised to get on a bus for Mexico or face arrest and deportation the next day.
___"I remember thinking that there was no God, that I was the master of my fate, and I had ruined my life. No scholarship, no Juilliard, nothing," he said.
___As he left the office, however, in the hallway he was greeted by a man who proclaimed loudly: "Hey, you were my clarinet player last night! Remember me. I played the banjo."
___They talked, and Darko was led into the man's office. He was a senior official at the immigration service. In a few minutes, Darko had a new visa.
___"I didn't know whom to thank at the time," he said, "but I knew I was no longer creating my own destiny."
___He committed his life to Christ in Jackson, was accepted at Juilliard and married his wife, Anne, whom he had met at First Baptist Church in Jackson. They now have a 9-year-old daughter, Lydia.
___His music career later included international performances with many of the greats of the music world, but it took a visit to the Brooklyn Tabernacle for him to see that his performances also could include Christian music. His wife loved and listened to Christian music, he said, but he made her keep it away from him. He felt it just didn't measure up to the music he performed.
___Seeing and listening to the choir at Brooklyn Tabernacle changed him and his attitude, he said.
___"I found a new dimension in music," he said, "that made me think and re-evaluate my position. What the Brooklyn Tabernacle was doing was truly worshiping God through their music. I realized it was a perfect offering to God. I'd never seen that before. It was a turning point for me."
___At the time, he had not considered a music ministry career, but he began to think that if he were going to shape his soul through music and share it with others, with multitudes, that it would have to be in a language they understood.
___"You can't say that one language is better than another," he said. "It may be more complex, but it is not better. The same is true of music.
___"That realization changed me and allowed me to get into contemporary Christian music while still carrying on classical and jazz," he said. "Slowly I built a repertoire."
___In 1997, Darko was invited to become director of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. He tells his audience that he brought with him from New York a commitment that all music is God's music.
___"I tell audiences that God can speak to them through music, if they will listen," he said.
___In June 2000, he devoted himself exclusively to Christian music ministry and evangelism. He has released two CDs--"I Surrender," a collection of popular hymn arrangements, and "The Gift," a Christmas album. He also has established Grace Ministries to seek out and enable other young musicians who want to use their talent to share the message of God's grace.
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