Attorney hopes people find 'Redemption' through his first CD

Palatine attorney Elroy "Sandy" Sandquist's latest effort won't earn him points in the courtroom, but he may win over some fans of contemporary Christian music.

Sandquist, who has been involved with the music ministry at Holy Family Catholic Church in Inverness for about seven years, is releasing his first CD.

Although those who know Sandquist as a lawyer may be surprised by his musical endeavor, he has been interested in music since he was child - playing both piano and guitar, singing in choirs and performing in theatrical productions. When he married his wife, Colleen, in 1990, he even wrote a song for her and performed it at the wedding reception.

Sandquist dusted off his songwriting skills in 2005 when Holy Family embarked on a fundraising campaign to build a center for children, youth and families. He was a member of the fundraising committee and wrote a song named after the campaign called "A Home For Our Family," which was well received.

"I started writing more songs and finally decided to do a CD," Sandquist said. "The songs I wrote after 'A Home For Our Family' were primarily about redemption, so I then wrote a song called 'Redemption' and that is the title of the CD."

Sandquist has four original songs on the CD including "A Home For Our Family," "One Set Of Footprints," "Cool Breeze" and the title cut "Redemption." The CD also features six well-known contemporary Christian songs, "Power of Your Love," "Give Me Jesus," "Healing Rain," "Surrender," "How Great Is Our God" and "Take Up Your Cross."

Sandquist recorded the CD with local producer Paul Langford, who will perform with him at the CD release party Sept. 21, along with the guitarist on the CD, Chris Siebold, and other musicians from the church choir.

Professional musicians provide the instrumentation and vocals on the CD with one exception. His daughters Kylen, 16, a junior at Palatine High School, and Kara, 13, an eighth-grader at Sundling Junior High, provided the background vocals for the song "A Home for Our Family." Sandy and his daughters will sing the song at the concert.

Sandquist hopes listeners will enjoy the sound of the CD, saying it features plenty of "ear candy."

"But more importantly I hope my lyrics and the lyrics of the great composers whose songs I'm covering will reinforce the listener's faith and maybe even bring some nonbelievers a little closer to believing," he said.

Everyone is invited to the CD release party and concert, which will be at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, at Holy Family Catholic Church, 2515 Palatine Road, Inverness.

The concert is free and there will be complimentary refreshments and appetizers following the concert. The CD will be available for purchase after the concert and subsequently at the Holy Family Bookstore and online at sandysandquist.com.

•Do you have an idea for a Palatine column topic? Send it to mhollander@dailyherald.com.