New York's 'Singing Policeman' Performs at Nardin Park in Farmington Hills

The Music and Fine Arts Committee will present Daniel Rodriguez in his first Michigan concert on Sunday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m.

Rodriguez is known as the “singing policeman” – the New York City cop who helped bring the country an uplifting spirit of promise and hope with his stirring rendition of “God Bless America” after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. At age 16, he presented his first recital at Carnegie Hall. At 19, he put music aside to raise his family working at the post office, and then as a police officer in the NYC Police Dept.

It was in uniform that local New York audiences discovered his voice and passion for the music he sang. As an “official singer” for the NYPD Ceremonial Unit, he sang at many functions, and later, at memorials in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani helped set up an audition with Placido Domingo, who subsequently mentored Daniel in Washington D.C. under the Young Artist Program.

Since 2006, Rodriguez has sung leading roles in operas and Broadway productions, recorded five solo CDs and toured throughout the U.S. and abroad. A devout individual, he donates his voice to numerous charitable causes, receiving over 11 distinguished awards from organizations foreign and domestic.

Rodriguez’s program on Nov. 13 dives into a new musical realm with the Jesse Lynch Trio, a fresh new jazz ensemble out of Brooklyn. Together they re-imagine classic song through the exhilarating prism of contemporary jazz, including songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Duke Ellington, Henry Mancini, Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, and Michael LeGrand.

The concert is part of Nardin Park's 2011-2012 Music Series. Tickets are $20 and available from the church office Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, call 248-476-8860, or visit the church's website.

Rodriguez will also appear on Nov. 13 at Nardin Park's 10 a.m. worship service. The church is located just west of Middlebelt, near I-696 and Orchard Lake Rd.