We couldn’t think of a better way to  kick off JoAnn’s 20th season than with this monumental masterpiece that includes the “Ode To Joy.” It is a work that continues to inspire millions each year with its optimistic message of unity and love. Superstar Thomas Hampson joins the BPO for a first half you will not forget.

Treat yourself to the full experience with the gala, featuring dinner and cocktails, premium concert seating, and a post-concert dessert reception. All proceeds benefit the BPO’s award-winning education program, which serve more than 50,000 students a year.

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 vocal soloists:

Deborah Selig, soprano
Blythe Gaissert, mezzo soprano
Andrew Skoog, tenor
Kevin Deas, baritone

About Thomas Hampson

Thomas Hampson, America’s foremost baritone, has received many honors and awards for his probing artistry and cultural leadership. Honored as a Metropolitan Opera Guild “Met Mastersinger” and inducted into both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Gramophone’s “Hall of Fame,” Hampson is one of the most respected and innovative musicians of our time. With an opera repertoire of over 80 roles sung in all the major opera houses of the world, his discography comprises more than 170 albums, which include multiple nominations and winners of the Grammy Award, Edison Award and the Grand Prix du Disque. 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 honored with a Living Legend Award by the Library of Congress, where he has served as Special Advisor to the Study and Performance of Music in America. Furthermore, he has received the famed Concertgebouw Prize, and was named ECHO Klassik’s “Singer of the Year” in 2011 for the fourth time in 20 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 Kammersängerof 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. 2017 Thomas Hampson received the Hugo-Wolf-Medal from the International Hugo-Wolf-Academy together with his long-time musical companion Wolfram Rieger for their outstanding achievements in the art of song interpretation.

Thomas Hampson enjoys a singular international career as an opera singer, recording artist and “ambassador of song,” maintaining an active interest in research, education, musical outreach and technology. Through the Hampsong Foundation, which he founded in 2003, he employs the art of song to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding.