Internationally Celebrated Baritone Thomas Hampson Performs at Mississippi College

Thomas Hampson

One of the world’s finest baritones, Thomas Hampson performs his “Song of America” concert at Mississippi College January 24.

Opening the 2011-2012 season with a concert at the San Francisco Opera, Hampson’s career spans more than a quarter-century with performances taking him everywhere from New York’s Carnegie Hall to the leading venues in Vienna and Cologne.

“Thomas Hampson has been regarded as one of the finest baritones in the world for the past twenty years,” says MC Music Department Chairman James Meaders. “Hosting Hampson at Mississippi College is a singular privilege for us and an opportunity for our students and community that must not be missed.”

Tickets are on sale for his 7:30 p.m. performance that Tuesday at the Christian university’s Swor Auditorium where Hampson will be accompanied by pianist Craig Rutenberg. It is one of the most notable events in the Department of Music’s James S. Sclater Chamber Music Series named for the retired award-winning MC professor and composer.

The 56-year-old Elkhart, Indiana native sandwiches his two-day Clinton visit between January 13-15 performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and a January 22 concert at New York’s Metropolitan Museum.

“The New York Times” raves about Hampson for his “ceaseless curiosity” that makes him one of the most respected soloists on the planet.

He opened this season with his fall performance of “Heart of a Soldier” in San Francisco. The piece by Christopher Theofanidis commemorated the 10^th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.

When asked in a recent interview what attracted him to the American song, Hampson said “Song is a big thing for me. I think poetry set to music is a wonderful art form and very informative of the culture that it comes from.”

His “Song of America’’ performance at Mississippi College is a panorama of American song with music by Copland, Barber, Ives, Hopkinson, Griffes, Thomson and others.

The day after the Clinton concert, on January 25^th, Hampson will conduct a masterclass with several students with the MC Singers. The 10 a.m. program at the Jean Pittman Williams Recital Hall is open to the public, but is ticketed at $10 per person. The recital hall on the Clinton campus is limited to about 200 people.

The American baritone’s career shows no signs of slowing down in Europe or on American stages. Following his Mississippi College visit, Hampson heads to a Vanderbilt University concert at the Blair School of Music on the Nashville campus. At the January 26^th concert in Tennessee, he will also perform the “Song of America.”

Growing up in Spokane, Washington, Hampson received his bachelor’s in government from Eastern Washington University and a BFA from Fort Wright College. He holds doctorates from the Manhattan School of Music, Whitworth College and the San Francisco Conservatory. His interests stretch from teaching to research to technology.

With more than 150 albums to his credit, Hampson was booked from 2009 to 2010 as the New York Philharmonic’s James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence. There is much more information available about his award-winning career at www.hampsong.com.

With his MC concert fast approaching, Music Department leaders are encouraging patrons to order their tickets now.

Ticket prices are set at $40 per person and $20 for students with an ID card. Students from all schools - from elementary schools to universities - are welcome to attend. The Thomas Hampson concert is part of the $100 package for those subscribing to the James Sclater Chamber Music Series. For more information regarding tickets, call the Music Department’s Dottie Serio at 601.925.3440.