MEDIA RELEASES

Dominican University proudly presents internationally renowned baritone Thomas Hampson in recital for the 28 ^th Annual Trustee Benefit Concert on Sunday, March 9. Hampson will perform at 3:00 p.m. in the intimate atmosphere of the university’s 1,200-seat Lund Auditorium, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest.

In the third decade of his powerhouse career, Hampson’s virile, versatile baritone has earned critical raves, recording awards (including a 2002 Grammy) and rapturous audience response since he won first place in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of 1981. He comes to Dominican University fresh off a triumphant January run as Giorgio Germont in Lyric Opera’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata. In his review, Chicago Tribune music critic John von Rhein writes, “I have never heard the American baritone in better voice or more intelligently invested in his character . . . . His magnificently sung ‘Di Provenza’ stopped the show.”

Known for rich and mellow low tones balanced by ringing top notes, Hampson’s repertoire extends from the operas of Britten, Mozart and Wagner to the musicals of Bernstein, Kern and Porter. His operatic experience encompasses over 60 roles and 120 recording projects, spanning known, as well as rarely performed, works and world premieres. He has sung the title roles in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Massenet’s Werter, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Verdi’s Macbeth and Simon Boccanegra.

Born in Indiana and raised in Spokane, WA, Hampson is particularly devoted to American song. He is currently involved in a national recital tour titled “Song of America” presented in collaboration with the Library of Congress. The concerts feature songs by American poets and composers from the 1700s to the present day, including hymns, folk songs, cowboy songs, war songs and African-American spirituals.

To Hampson, song and singing are the “diary of our existence” and therefore of the greatest significance for intercultural dialogue and understanding. To provide a forum for this kind of exchange, he established the HAMPSONG Foundation to serve as an archive of his own activities as a musician and scholar and to make them available to a larger audience.

This benefit concert is the highlight of a fundraising gala for the university, proceeds of which go toward scholarships for Dominican students. During the concert’s intermission, Dominican University President Donna M. Carroll will present the 2008 Bravo Award to Shirley Welsh Ryan and Marlene Welsh Phillips and in memory of the recently deceased Alice Welsh Skilling, three extraordinary sisters who have worked collaboratively to provide unwavering support for the Chicagoland arts community.

Together, the sisters have supported Pathways Awareness Foundation, a national nonprofit organization co-founded by Shirley Welsh Ryan and dedicated to raising awareness about the benefits of early detection and therapy for children with early motor delays. Alice Welsh Skilling was a trustee of Dominican University and a board member of Art Resources in Teaching, Chicago’s oldest and largest educational organization dedicated to providing visual arts residency programs to Chicago schoolchildren. Both Mrs. Ryan and Mrs. Skilling have been philanthropic supporters of After School Matters, a Chicago initiative offering teens hands-on training in the arts, sports, technology, communications and science. In addition to Pathways, Marlene Welsh Phillips has been affiliated for many years with the Chicago Foundation for Education and the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Bravo Award is presented annually by the university to a person or organization whose exceptional contributions to the performing arts have enhanced the public’s opportunities to enjoy the best in music, opera, theater and the humanities. Past recipients include Maria Tallchief, Sir Georg and Lady Solti, the Lyric Opera and LaSalle Bank.

Following the concert, guests will have an opportunity to meet Hampson at a cocktail reception and bid for many exciting items at a silent auction.

Tickets for the concert and cocktail reception are $350. A limited number of concert-only tickets are available for $55 and $75 through the university’s box office at (708) 488-5000. For more information on the gala benefit, please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at (708) 524-6299.