Thomas Hampson, America’s foremost baritone, hails from Spokane, Washington. He enjoys a singular international career as an opera singer, recording artist, and “ambassador of song”, and has received many honours and awards for his probing artistry and cultural leadership.

Comprising more than 170 albums, his discography includes winners of a GRAMMY Award, five Edison Awards, and the Grand Prix du Disque. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and honoured as a Metropolitan Opera Guild “Met Mastersinger”. He received the 2009 Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, and was appointed the New York Philharmonic’s first artist-in-residence. In 2010 he was honoured with a Living Legend Award by the Library of Congress, where he serves as Special Advisor to the Study and Performance of Music in America. Furthermore, he received the famed Concertgebouw Prize, and was named ECHO Klassik’s “Singer of the Year” in 2011 for the fourth time in twenty years.

Hampson was made honorary professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Heidelberg and holds honorary doctorates from Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, Whitworth College, and San Francisco Conservatory, as well as being an honorary member of London’s Royal Academy of Music. He carries the titles of Kammersänger of the Vienna State Opera and Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the Republic of France, and was awarded the Austrian Medal of Honour in Arts and Sciences.