Thomas Hampson considers Richard Hageman as "an American composer of the highest caliber [and] an important contributor to the arts in America" and yet VOICES is the first album ever to be dedicated solely to Hageman's songs. Born in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, on July 9, 1881, Hageman moved to Hollywood in 1938, quickly establishing himself as an A-list composer. Six of his film scores were nominated for an Academy Award, later known as an Oscar, winning with John Ford's western, Stagecoach (1939).