Library of Congress Song of America Tour with Thomas Hampson Comes to Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center January 8
December 16, 2005
Hailed as the "Ambassador of American Song," renowned baritone Thomas Hampson has joined forces with The Library of Congress to celebrate the history of creativity in America. A champion of the American song, Hampson's collaboration with the Library has resulted in an eleven-city concert tour across the United States, highlighting the Library's unparalleled collections of songs through concerts, recordings, and cybercasts. Hampson's repertoire spans the gamut of the American song, from the 1700s to the present day, and emphasizes its context in society, ranging from Psalm settings and hymns, folksongs and cowboy songs, to war songs and African American spirituals.
Tickets for the Library of Congress Song of America Tour with Thomas Hampson vocal recital are priced at $69, $59, $51, $41 and $36. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings (additional fees may apply). For group sales call 215-893-5883.
This performance is the first in the Kimmel Center Presents’ Master Musicians Vocal Series. Additional performances include the great Russian bass-baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky on May 10, 2006, and the Philadelphia Singers as part of the Organ Festival on May 14, 2006.
PROGRAM
The program will include, among other works, Stephen Foster’s Beautiful Dreamer (1864); Charles Tomlinson Griffes’ An Old Song Re-sung (1918); Charles Naginski’s Look Down, Fair Moon (1940); Henry Burleigh’s Ethiopia Saluting the Colors (1915); John Woods Duke’s Richard Cory (1945); William Grant Still’s Grief (1935); and traditionals Shenandoah (19th century, Roger Ames); Boatman’s Dance (1950, Aaron Copland); and The Erie Canal (19th century, Roger Ames).
PRE-CONCERT
In addition, 13th Librarian of Congress and Philadelphia native Dr. James H. Billington will speak at a pre-concert lecture in the Rendell Room at the Kimmel Center beginning at 6:00 pm. This is free to all ticket holders.
ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS ON DISPLAY
An important component of this presentation includes a display in the lobby of the Kimmel Center, before and after the performance, of original manuscripts (holographs) of music and letters, some of which have never left the Library of Congress, including, Samuel Barber’s Sure on this Shining Night (from Four Songs, two pages); Henry Burleigh’s Ethiopia Saluting the Colors; Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring (pages 68 and 69) and letter from Martha Graham to Mrs. Coolidge; Stephen Foster’s Beautiful Dreamer (First Edition) and The Voices That Are Gone (2 pages); George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (title page); Leonard Bernstein’s To What You Said (from Songfest, one page); Gian Carlo Menotti’s Lullaby (from the Consul, Act II, pages 8-10); and Ned Rorem’s As Adam Early in the Morning (one page).
RECEPTION
Following the performance, Mr. Hampson will autograph CD’s and all ticket holders are invited to a free reception in the lobby of the Kimmel Center.
MASTERCLASS
Mr. Hampson will also give a vocal master class for students from the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and the Curtis Institute on Saturday, January 7 at 2:00 pm in the Kimmel Center’s Rendell Room. A master teacher as well as performer, Hampson has conducted countless master classes and coaching sessions for voice students worldwide. In these classes, he shares his insights into how to tell stories through song and how to bring them to life, so that they move both performer and listener.
THOMAS HAMPSON
Baritone Thomas Hampson, a native of Spokane, Washington, has long been regarded as one of the most passionate advocates for American song, which he has championed throughout his career with recitals, recordings, multimedia projects and television programs. Critics have praised him for his compelling interpretations, imaginative programming and vocal charisma. His continuing dedication to a wide spectrum of home-grown song will be manifest on the tour, not only in the wide-ranging recital programs - featuring favorites such as Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer," the beloved folk anthem "Shenandoah" and rarities such as Henry T. Burleigh's "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors" - but also in the host of special activities he and the Library of Congress will bring to the community.
Hampson's long-standing collaboration with the Library of Congress grew out of a vision shared with Librarian of Congress James H. Billington: to honor the history and preservation of American song and to reveal to new audiences the breadth and depth of the Library's unparalleled collections of musical scores and recordings. Hampson, who has spent countless hours at the Library over the years in research and discovery, observes: "The richness of the Library's music collections lies not only in the coverage of American concert, popular, ethnic and folk music but also in the wealth of European concert music, opera scores and librettos, as well as the symphonic and chamber music of the 20th century."
A primary goal of the "Song of America" tour is to reach out to young people who might not be familiar with the great depth and variety of American song and history; each stop on the concert tour will include an educational component in which Hampson will interact with students. Additionally, the Library will send its educational outreach staff to each concert city to conduct daylong teacher institutes for local K-12 educators. Invited teachers will learn how to incorporate the Library's unique online collections into their classrooms to encourage critical thinking skills among their students.
Highlights of the special events planned in conjunction with the November recitals are Hampson master classes with students; screenings of select films restored by the Library of Congress; a Preservation Workshop with a team of specialists from the Library showing people how to preserve their own mementos; and public viewings of treasures from the Library, including important musical manuscripts. The manuscript treasures include both rarities - such as Louis Armstrong's "Gully Low Blues" - and seminal works like Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" and George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," as well as documents chosen especially for each tour market. In the Kansas City region, for example, the sheet music for Frederic Logan's "Missouri Waltz Song" and Roger C. Webb's "Kansas City A's" will be on display. Some future tour dates (including Omaha and West Palm Beach) will feature appearances by Poet Laureate Ted Kooser discussing the creative process of writing poetry.
On November, 8 EMI Classics released a companion CD titled "Song of America." This 20-track collection of American song, created in association with the Library of Congress, was personally assembled by Hampson from his extensive and acclaimed discography for the label. The album features songs that Hampson will sing on the tour and many other favorites and lesser-known gems.
Library of Congress Song of America Tour with Thomas Hampson is one of the first in a series of events in the Library's broader, long-term exploration and celebration of "Creativity Across America." Recently, the Library's National Book Festival was held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and featured 70 authors representing every literary genre. Other initiatives spanning the spectrum of arts and culture in America will be announced soon. For more information on the Library's celebration of "Creativity Across America," visit the Library's Web site at www.loc.gov/creativity/hampson.
The Library of Congress is the world's largest library with more than 130 million items in nearly all major languages and formats. The Library of Congress serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both onsite in its 21 reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning Web site at www.loc.gov.
Library of Congress Song of America Tour with Thomas Hampson, produced in collaboration with IMG Artists, has been made possible by friends of the Library of Congress and members of its private advisory group, the James Madison Council.
Tickets for the Library of Congress Song of America Tour with Thomas Hampson vocal recital are priced at $69, $59, $51, $41 and $36. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings (additional fees may apply). For group sales call 215-893-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased 2.5 hours prior to evening performances and 11:30am for matinees. Sponsors of the 2005/2006 Kimmel Center Presents season include Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Sovereign Bank, The American Express Company, and Verizon Foundation. Special Student Matinees at the Kimmel Center are generously supported by Merck & Co., Inc. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte and Southern Wine and Spirit. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Master Musicians Vocal Series
Sunday, January 8, 2006 |7:30pm
Perelman Theater
Library of Congress Song of America Tour with Thomas Hampson/
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Wolfram Reiger, piano
Program to include:
Stephen Foster’s Beautiful Dreamer (1864)
Charles Tomlinson Griffes’ An Old Song Re-sung (1918)
Charles Naginski’s Look Down, Fair Moon (1940)
Henry Burleigh’s Ethiopia Saluting the Colors (1915)
John Woods Duke’s Richard Cory (1945)
William Grant Still’s Grief (1935)
Shenandoah<./i> (19th century, Roger Ames)
Boatman’s Dance (1950, Aaron Copland)
The Erie Canal (19th century, Roger Ames)
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