Renowned Baritone Will Perform for Atlantic Council Awards Dinner

Washington, D.C. – Thomas Hampson, the renowned American baritone, will receive the Atlantic Council’s distinguished artistic leadership award at its annual Awards Dinner on April 29.  The dinner honors select individuals for leadership in the political, military, business and artistic communities.  Mr. Hampson will also provide a special performance for dinner attendees.

The Council established the artistic leadership award in 2008 to remind the Atlantic Community how art and the artist stand at the core of our shared values.  Mr. Hampson truly embodies the spirit of the award, having lived and worked in both Europe and the U.S. for most of his professional career.

Thomas Hampson is among the world’s most celebrated, sought-after singers performing on the stage today.  He entered the top echelon of the musical world during the mid-1980s when he made concurrent debuts with the Zurich Opera, Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, along with celebrated performances and recordings with Leonard Bernstein.  During the last 25 years, he has performed 70 roles in a dozen languages, including title roles in nearly every major opera house in the world.  In addition to his operatic career, he is among the leading interpreters of the art song repertoire and regularly performs solo recitals in European and American musical capitals, including at the White House.  Mr. Hampson can be heard on over 150 CD recordings and 20 DVDs and has received nearly every major recording award, including the Grammy and Gramophone Awards, the Edison Prize for Lifetime achievement and the Echo Prize.

A member of the European Academy of Arts and Sciences, he has received the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Republic of France, the Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst from the Republic of Austria and several honorary doctorates.  Featured regularly on PBS and on European television, Mr. Hampson has also produced television specials focused on the art of song as a narrative of our shared cultural experiences.  As the Library of Congress’s Special Advisor to the Study and Performance of Music in America, he collaborates with the Library on a joint initiative, the “Song of America” project, which highlights the importance of poetry and song in present-day American culture.

This year’s Atlantic Council Awards Dinner will also honor 41st President George H.W. Bush and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl for their distinguished international leadership; U.S. Central Command Commander General David Petraeus for military leadership; and IBM Chairman, CEO and President Samuel Palmisano for business leadership.  The dinner commemorates two historic dates in transatlantic relations:  the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, where President Bush and close ally Chancellor Kohl helped make the reunification of Germany and the peaceful end of the Cold War a reality, and the 60th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  Both of these events contributed to a more whole and free Europe.

###