Daron Hagen is a force to be reckoned with in the world of opera and orchestral music, with Guggenheim, Rockefeller, and Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards numbering among his accolades. With Hagen’s catalog of over 500 songs and large-scale cycles, The Art of Song is founded on 45 years of distinguished experience in vocal music. Divided into four “life seasons,” this richly emotional cycle embraces themes that range from the human cost of America’s politics since the Civil War; the rueful wisdom of aging, love and nostalgia; and on towards tragedy, faith and an acceptance of nature’s cycles.