Daron Hagen
Daron Aric Hagen (
Biography
Early life
Daron Hagen was born in
Early career
After two years at the
Arts advocate and educator
As artistic director of the Perpetuum Mobile Concerts (1982–87) he premiered compositions by over a hundred American composers on concerts produced in Philadelphia and New York.[17] Hagen served as president of the Lotte Lehmann Foundation (2004–07) in New York City, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging the performance and creation of opera and art song; from 2000 to 2018 he served as a trustee of the Douglas Moore Fund for American Opera[18] and was elected a lifetime member of the Corporation of Yaddo in 2006.[19][20] He is the founding artistic director of the New Mercury Collective, "a laboratory for artistic exploration, creative risk-taking, and performance in which its members can collaborate on the creation and performance of post-genre works combining theater, music, and emerging technology for audiences of all types."[21] Hagen has been a featured composer at the Tanglewood, Mostly Modern, Ravinia, Wintergreen, and Aspen music festivals, and has served as artistic director and head of faculty for the Seasons Fall Music Festival[22] in Yakima, Washington (2008–2012). He has served as co-chair of Composition[23] for the Wintergreen Summer Music Academy in Virginia since 2015.
Faculty appointments include a stint as composer in residence at the Music Conservatory of the Chicago College of Performing Arts that led to an invitation to join the artist faculty there (2017-2023) "in a multi-disciplinary position created for him that enable[d] him to share his skills as a stage director, dramaturge, composer, and social activist with students from throughout the Roosevelt University community as they shadowed him and collaborate in the development of a new Hagen opera each year."[24] He has also served as the Franz Lehár Composer in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh (2007),[25] twice as composer in residence for the Princeton University Atelier (1998, 2004–5);[26] as artist in residence at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2000–2002); Sigma Chi-William P. Huffman Composer in Residence at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio (1999–2000); artist in residence at Baylor University, Waco, Texas (1998–1999); on the musical studies faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music (1996–1998); as an associate professor at Bard College (1988–1997); as a visiting professor at the City College of New York (1997, 1993–1994); and as a lecturer in music at New York University (1988–1990).[27]
Writer, director, and filmmaker
Hagen's memoir, "Duet with the Past," was published by McFarland & Company on March 1, 2019.[28]
Hagen made his professional debut as a stage director for the Skylight Music Theatre with his musical I Hear America Singing (2014), for which he contributed book, lyrics, and score.[29][30] In spring 2015 he directed his opera A Woman in Morocco for Kentucky Opera.[31][32]
In 2020–21, Hagen debuted as a
Compositional style and methods
Hagen's music is essentially
Hagen's vocal music is described in The New Grove as "the cornerstone of his compositional output."[43] He has remarked, "I love voices and I like singers, and along with the intersection of loving music and words and singers, I adore the process of composing and going through the production of musical theater. There is the communion of people coming together to commit to undertaking a work of art that is larger than any of us."[44] "Using his gift for composing vocal lines, [Hagen] produces songs that flow lyrically and illuminate texts with unerring musical and dramatic aim. His scores are full of extensive markings, requiring singers to use variety of tone color to achieve the emotions inherent in the texts."[45]
His operas embrace a particularly broad stylistic spectrum, and often "straddle the divide between the opera and musical theater worlds."
In 2007 self-publishing enabled Hagen to become one of the first American opera composers to make evolving performance materials for the opera Amelia (and all his successive works) available exclusively in an online environment: "The opera's principals were given access to a password-protected website on which Hagen placed pdf files of Amelia's vocal score. When he modified a scene, he simply uploaded an edited file, and an automatically generated message informed the cast of the change."[53]
Critical reception
According to Opera News, "to say that [Hagen] is a remarkable musician is to underrate him. Daron is music."[7] The NATS Journal of Singing has described Hagen as "the finest American composer of vocal music in his generation."[54]
Hagen's debut opera Shining Brow premiered in 1993 to universally glowing reviews in the international press.[12][13][14] When the Buffalo Philharmonic released the first recording on Naxos in 2009, David Patrick Sterns noted in The Philadelphia Inquirer, "the ceaselessly inventive score hooks you early on, easily embracing a wide range of predominantly tonal modes of expression, from barbershop quartet to Der Rosenkavalier quotations. The music's theatrical timing and naturalistic sense of language – so problematic in other contemporary operas – feels effortlessly right. Dramatically speaking, the portrayal of the great architect is so unflinching that Wright (played with many layers of irony by the excellent Robert Orth) borders on being too unsympathetic to carry this sizable, two-act opera. Particularly effective is the musical creepiness that sets in as Wright's high-ego world grows refracted from reality.".[55]
Hagen's 2010 opera Amelia premiered to positive reviews in The New York Times, Financial Times, Times of London, Seattle Times, The Washington Post, and Opera Magazine, among others. Heidi Waleson in The Wall Street Journal described the work as "both highly original and gripping. ... Amelia is a modern opera with traditional values ... Mr. Hagen's restless, questioning music never loses its heart."[56] Ivan Katz, in The Huffington Post, wrote "Hagen's score is well-composed and, in many respects, a work of genius. He tends to write in a more facile manner for the women, but his writing for the men (especially tenor William Burden) is complex and highly effective."[57] Anthony Tommasini in The New York Times noted that "the opera is earnest and original, if heavy-handed and melodramatic. [It is] a serious, heartfelt and unusual work. However, there is too much lyricism and no break in the orchestral richness."[58]
His 2013 opera,
Will [a new opera] find a connection with tradition while creating something fresh and timely? I believe that composer Daron Hagen and his co-librettist Barbara Grecki have [done this] with their new two-act opera. ... Hagen's score feelingly captures the deep contradictions of its story and its characters in music that evokes the beauty and mystery of an exotic landscape, the dangerous and deceptive sensuality of its inhabitants, and the intense violence that is always just beneath the surface of a culture that threatens and terrorizes women.[61]
Awards
- 1979 – ASCAP Raymond Hubbell Scholarship
- 1982, 1983, 1984 – Broadcast Music IncorporatedYoung Composer Prizes
- 1982, 1983, 1984 – ASCAP Morton Gould Prizes
- 1983 – ASCAPSamuel Barber Scholarship
- 1983 – Charles Ives Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters
- 1985 – Joseph H. Bearns Prize, Columbia University
- 1987 – Barlow Endowment International Prize for Chamber Music Composition[62]
- 1988 – ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize for Best Orchestral Work[63]
- 1990 – Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, for the orchestral work, Common Ground
- 1997 – Opera America's Next Stage Award
- 1997 – National Endowment for the Arts, production grant for Shining Brow revival
- 2012 – Guggenheim Fellowship
- 2014 – Arts and Letters Award in Music, American Academy of Arts and Letters[64]
List of works
His first composition to attract wide attention was Prayer for Peace,
A frequent collaborator with living writers, he has set poetry by Nuar Alsadir,
Recordings and publishing
Recordings of Hagen works may be found on the
References
- ^ Clare, John (2010), Interview with Daron Hagen (video recording Hagen's pronunciation of his own name in the course of the interview.), San Antonio: Texas Public Radio
- ^ Exclusively Yours
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4766-7737-8
- ^ Strini, Tom (2010), Arts Digest: Interview with Daron Hagen (television broadcast.), Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Television
- ^ Joslyn, Jay (1978), "Young Composer Shows Promise", The Milwaukee Sentinel (1/5/78)
- ^ Yale University Oral History of American Music Interview Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
- ^ a b Rorem, Ned (1993), "Learning with Daron", Opera News (April 10): 29–30
- ISBN 0-86547-259-9
- ISBN 978-0-252-02487-0
- ^ MacDowell Colony Website. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ISBN 0-679-40731-6
- ^ a b Smith, Patrick (1993), "The Fall of Taliesin", The Times Literary Supplement (5/14/93)
- ^ a b Kerner, Leighton (1993), "The Wright Stuff", The Village Voice (5/5/93)
- ^ a b Oestereich, James. "Review/Music: Shining Brow; Frank Lloyd Wright Joins Opera's Pantheon", The New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2008.
- ISBN 0-231-11958-5
- ISBN 0-911318-20-8
- ^ Webster, Daniel (1985), "3 Musicians Who Are On the Move", The Philadelphia Inquirer (2/16/85): D01
- ^ Douglas Moore Fund for American Music Website. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ^ Passaro, Vince (2006), "Yaddo Elects Librarian Susan Brynteson and Composer Daron Hagen Lifetime Members", Press Release (September 25), archived from the original on May 12, 2008
- ^ Yaddo Website. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ New Mercury Collective Website. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ Seasons Music Festival Academy Website Archived September 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ Wintergreen Music Festival Website Retrieved June 15, 2015.
- ^ BWW Newsdesk (2017). "Daron Hagen Joins Faculty at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts", Broadway World. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- ^ University of Pittsburgh Composition and Theory Department Website. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ^ Past Atelier Artists - Lewis Center for the Arts. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ Press Kit at DaronHagen.com
- ^ Book listing at the publisher's website. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ Muckian, Michael (2014), "Local composer creates original work for Skylight", Wisconsin Gazette (4/17/14): 26
- ^ BWW Newsdesk (2014). "Skylight Music Theatre to Premiere Daron Hagen's I HEAR AMERICA SINGING, 5/9-6/1", Broadway World. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Kramer, Elizabeth (2015), "New Opera Touches on Human Trafficking", The Courier Journal (5/8/15): 23
- ^ a b Gilliam, Daniel (2015), "Kentucky Opera's 'A Woman in Morocco' is Complex and Challenging", WFPL Website (5/15/15)
- ^ Orson Rehearsed Website. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ "An Interview With Daron Hagen". Chicago Movie Magazine. October 12, 2020.
- ^ Salazar, David (October 16, 2017). "Q & A: Composer Daron Hagen, Orson Welles & the Biggest Train Set Ever". operawire.com.
- ^ Wilson, Joshua (July 29, 2017). "DARON HAGEN AND ORSON REHEARSED: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE COMPOSER". fforfilms.net.
- ^ 9/10: Love Before the Fall on IMDb
- ^ Classical Composers Database. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
- ^ Hagen, Daron (2012), "Daron Hagen Biography", All Music Guide, retrieved July 8, 2012
- ^ Hagen, Daron; Hong Kong, Naxos Records (2009), Shining Brow Liner Notes
- ISBN 978-0-19-979159-0
- ^ Hagen, Daron (May 14, 2012), "Obsessed – Marc Blitzstein", HuffPost, retrieved July 8, 2012
- ^ ISBN 1-56159-239-0
- ^ Reel, James (1999), "A Conversation with Composer Daron Hagen", Fanfare Magazine (September/October): 128–133
- OCLC 225969165
- OCLC 52230006. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ Strini, Tom (April 22, 1993), "Frank Lloyd Wright opera powerful, touching", The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- ^ Thicknesse, Robert. "Vera of Las Vegas", The Times. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
- ^ Page, Tim; Albany, N. Y. Albany Records (2003), Bandanna Liner Notes
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Daron Hagen's Blog Memoir Archived 2015-05-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ Parsonage, Catherine (2006), "Hagen's Bandanna and the Accessibility of Opera", Winds Music Magazine (May): 12–16
- ^ Oteri, Frank. sixteen-composers-receive-aaal-awards-totaling-175000, NewMusicBox. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- ISBN 978-0199714841
- ^ Platt, Russell (1998), "Artful Simplicity: the Art Songs of Daron Hagen", NATS Journal of Singing, 55 (1): 3–11
- ^ Sterns, David Patrick (April 9, 2009). "Shining Brow". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ Waleson, Heidi (May 10, 2010). "On So Many Levels, a Success". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
- ^ Katz, Ivan (May 11, 2010), "World Premiere of Daron Hagen's opera Amelia", HuffPost, retrieved June 26, 2010
- ^ Tommasini, Anthony (May 9, 2010). "A Woman's Flights of Fantasy and Fear". The New York Times.
- ^ Hagen, Daron (2015), The Making of A Woman in Morocco, Episode 7 (video documentary discussing Hagen's directorial aesthetic.), New York City: Burning Sled Music
- ^ Zeldin, Natalie (November 1, 2013). "Review: A Woman in Morocco". The Austin Chronicle (Texas).
- ^ Frye, Selena (May 15, 2015). "Review: Kentucky Opera's Sobering A Woman in Morocco". Louisville.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
- ^ "List of Barlow Endowment Prize Recipients. Barlow Foundation Website".
- ^ "List of ASCAP-Nissim Prize Recipients. ASCAP Website". ASCAP.com.
- ^ Oteri, Frank (March 4, 2014). "Sixteen Composers Receive AAAL Awards Totaling $175,000". New Music Box.
- ISBN 0-8122-1445-5
- ^ Holland, Bernard. "Classical Music in Review", The New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2008.
- ^ Description of the UW-Madison School of Music 100th Anniversary Commissioning Project at the University of Wisconsin Press Website. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
- ISBN 0-85323-868-5
- ^ Lowry, Sam (2011), "Sarasota Opera Hosts Press Conference to Announce New Youth Opera Commission and co-Production", Press Release (November 17, 2011), archived from the original on April 26, 2012
- ^ Musical America Website Retrieved April 10, 2023
- ^ Slippedisc Website. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
Dissertations
- Jens Staubrand: Kierkegaard International Bibliography Music Works and Plays, Copenhagen 2009. In English and Danish. ISBN 978-87-92510-05-1, Including Daron Hagen's LORD, GOD IN HEAVEN from LITTLE PRAYERS, 1994
- Paul Kreider 1999. Art songs of Daron Hagen: lyrical dramaticism and simplicity with an interpretive guide to rittenhouse songs and resuming green. DMA diss., University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
- Edwin Powell 2002. Bandanna, an opera by Daron Aric Hagen with libretto by Paul Muldoon commissioned by the College Band Directors National Association: the origins of an artwork with a glimpse at its musical character development. DMA diss., University of North Texas, Denton, Texas.
- Jane McCalla Redding 2002. An introduction to American song composer Daron Aric Hagen (b. 1961) and his miniature folk opera: dear youth. DMA diss., Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- Sarah Elizabeth Snydacker 2011.The new American song: A catalog of published songs by 25 living American composers. Ph.D. diss., University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
- Wallace, Jacob 2015. Bandanna Overture. In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 10, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 705–714. Chicago: GIA Publications.
- Jay B. Aiken 2016. The Choral Music of Daron Aric Hagen and a Conductor's Analysis of Flight Music. DMA, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
- Nicole Kenley-Miller 2012–2018. Voicing Virginia: Adaptation of Woolf’s Words to Music. DMA diss., University of Houston, Houston, Texas.
- Noh, Shin-Yeong 2019. Emily Dickinson's Poetic Imagery in 21st-century Songs by Lori Laitman, Jake Heggie, and Daron Hagen. DMA diss., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- Kosin, Kelci Dalayne, 2019 A performance guide to selected arias from Daron Hagen's opera Amelia through the study of selected Hagen art songs. DA, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.,
External links
Biography
- Official Biography at Daron Hagen Website
- Allmusic Biography
- Daron Hagen at IMDb
- Guggenheim Foundation Fellow Profile
Interviews
- 2019 WILDSound Film Festival Podcast interview about "Orson Rehearsed"
- 2019 New England Public Radio Presto: Episode #8 with John Nowacki – Daron Hagen discusses, and reads from, his memoir
- 2018 Classical Classroom, Episode 181: The Magicians – Daron Hagen on Orson Welles
- 2016 Houston Public Media interview about Ned Rorem
- 2015 Houston Public Media interview about Benjamin Britten and the opera "Billy Budd"
- 2010 Composing Thoughts Interview with John Clare for Texas Public Radio discussing Amelia, Piano Trios, and Violin Concerto
- 2009 Yale Oral History of American Music "Major Figures in American Music" interview