The Song and the Slogan Bios
JERRY HADLEY
Tenor
Three-time Grammy Award winner Jerry Hadley is regarded as the leading American tenor of his generation, and one of the most sought-after singers of our time. He has received international acclaim for his interpretation of Mozart operatic tenor roles, as well as for those of the French romantic and Bel Canto eras. His equal ease in the realm of Broadway musical theater, operetta and popular song make him one of today’s most versatile artists.
His career has taken him to all the world’s leading opera houses and festivals, among them the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Royal Opera at Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna State Opera, the Glynebourne Festival, and the Salzburg Festival. No stranger to the concert stage or the recital platform, he is a soloist of choice for today’s leading conductors, as well as an accomplished solo recitalist. His dozens of recordings reflect his wide and varied repertoire.
Hadley, who grew up in Manlius, Ill., and received his masters’ degree from the University of Illinois School of Music in 1977, commissioned the music for The Song and the Slogan and sings the voice part in the extended chamber work. He wanted the work to be based on the poetry of Carl Sandburg because the poet’s words had spoken to him since boyhood.
TIM HARTIN
Producer/Director
Tim Hartin, producer/director of The Song and the Slogan, is an award-winning producer of documentaries and other programming at WILL-TV, where he has worked since 1992. He previously worked at Nebraska Educational Television for 12 years.
His two most recent documentaries for WILL-TV, Vietnam: Soldiers’ Stories and Mr. Shimkus Goes to Washington, were distributed by PBS and aired on public television stations around the country. Mr. Shimkus Goes to Washington received the national 1999 Telly Award for best documentary. The Telly Awards recognize excellence in independent films.
Hartin was also director/photographer for WILL-TV’s Emmy Award-winning Walter Burley Griffin: In His Own Right, and director of production/editor of WILL-TV’s Against the Wind about wheelchair athlete Jean Driscoll. He is director of photography for a WILL-TV documentary, Gold Star Mothers: Pilgrimage of Remembrance, airing on PBS stations in May, 2004.
Hartin’s other credits include “Marcel Marceau American Tour” (cinematographer); “The Wind at One’s Fingertips” (director of photography); “The Modern Immigrant” (director of photography/editor); and “Violoncello” (cinematographer/editor).
DANIEL STEVEN CRAFTS
Composer
Daniel Crafts has completed seven operas and 13 large orchestral works, as well as a variety of shorter pieces. His work has twice received awards from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the ASCAP.
From his satirical keyboard pieces (“A Meter Maid Attempts to Give a Parking Ticket to an Aggressive Alcoholic Who Has Just Arrived with Three More Dimes”) to his orchestral portraits of the American West, his music has been praised by tenor Jerry Hadley, among others, for its strong sense of melody.
In 1984 he received a commission from conductor Kent Nagano for an orchestral work, and in recent years has received several commissions for vocal works from Jerry Hadley, including “The Song and the Slogan” and “Illinois Farmer.”
Born in the industrial section of Detroit, Crafts is a self-taught composer. A selection of his work has been recorded on two CDs released by the BACAT label in San Francisco.
More information about Crafts is available at http://www.dscrafts.net.
DAVID HARTMAN
Narrator
David Hartman is best known for his long career as host of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and for his award-winning documentaries. However, before joining the world of television, Hartman grew up learning to play several musical instruments, studying voice and student-conducting choral groups in both high school and college. He turned down professional baseball offers out of high school to attend Duke University, where he earned a degree in economics and began working in television and radio at age 17. After college, he served three years active duty as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, Strategic Air Command.
Hartman became the host of “Good Morning America” at its inception in 1975. During his 11 years as host, GMA became the No. 1 morning news program as Hartman explored the world in more than 5,000 hours of live television. He conducted more than 12,000 interviews with heads of state and world leaders, and with people from every walk of life.
Through his production company, Rodman-Downs, Inc., he has produced, written and hosted many hours of award-winning documentary programs for network television, PBS and cable. Among his numerous professional honors are two National News and Documentary Emmy Awards, the Aviation/Space Writers’ Journalism Award, the Silver Apple Award, and the Cine Golden Eagle.
