Daniel Decker is a Puerto Rican composer, singer and recording artist, who has produced work blending musical influences (classical, jazz, pop and world music) from many cultures. Decker was born in

Rio Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

, Puerto Rico. He was raised in

Solvay, New York Solvay is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village located in the town of Geddes, New York, Geddes, Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York (state), New York, United States, and a suburb of the city of Syracuse, New Yor ...

, and was trained at the

Crane School of Music The Crane School of Music is located in Potsdam, New York, and is one of three schools which make up the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam. Crane consists of approximately 630 undergraduate and 30 graduate students and a facult ...

in New York. He collaborated with

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

composer Ara Gevorgian. "Noah’s Prayer" (originally entitled "Mush") chronicles Noah's journey to Mount Ararat. "Noah’s Prayer" debuted in 2002 in

Sardarapat, Armenia Sardarapat (), is a major village in the Armavir province of Armenia. The settlement was originally known as Sardarapat until 1935 when it was renamed Hoktember (October) in memory of the 1917 October Revolution. In 1967, the village of Norap ...

to celebrate Armenian Independence day; in attendance were Armenian President

Robert Kocharyan Robert Sedraki Kocharyan ( ; born 31 August 1954) is an Armenian politician. He served as the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1994. He served as the second Presiden ...

Karekin II Catholicos Garegin II (, also spelled Karekin; born 21 August 1951) is the Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, since 1999. In 2013 he was unanimously elected the Oriental Orthodox head of the World Cou ...

, Supreme Patriarch and

Catholicos A catholicos (plural: catholicoi) is the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and, in some cases, it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek ( ...

of All Armenians (head of the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

), and ambassadors from many countries. The concert was broadcast live on Armenian television and via satellite to over 30 nations. He later heard Gevorgian's composition "Adana" and set up a second collaboration. Named after the city where one of the first massacres of the

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n people took place, it tells the story of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

; soldiers of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

forced 1.5 million Armenians into starvation, torture and extermination for being

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. As with their first collaboration, Decker wrote the song's lyrics to complement the musical landscape of Ara Gevorgian: "I wrote 'Adana' not only as a way to draw international attention to a terrible tragedy, but as a source of healing to the Armenian people." He was invited by the Armenian government to sing it at a special concert in

Yerevan, Armenia Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

; it was broadcast live on Armenian television on April 24, 2005 to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.ARMENIA INVITES SYRACUSAN
''

The Post-Standard ''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''Th ...

'', April 25, 2005 "Adana" had been translated into 17 languages and recorded by singers and musicians around the world. Decker has worked with relief organizations to bring aid to the poorest regions and to children and the elderly. He produced a CD named "My Offering" with "Noah’s Prayer and "Adana" played by the

Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra The Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra (''ANPO'') (Armenian language, Armenian: Հայաստանի ազգային ֆիլհարմոնիկ նվագախումբ) is the national orchestra of Armenia. It was founded in 1925 as a symphony orchest ...

, and eight tracks including, "My Offering", Decker's contribution to the world of modern worship songs, "There Is A Place", "Dust in the Wind", and "And So It Goes".

References

External links

Daniel Decker Myspace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decker, Daniel Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers American male singers Crane School of Music alumni Puerto Rican musicians People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico People from Solvay, New York 21st-century American male musicians