Classical Superstars Daugherty and Hampson join Spokane Symphony for world premiere of salute to Lincoln

Feb 2, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 464-7071

Media Alert: Thomas Hampson and Michael Daugherty will be featured in a video press conference at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 10:30 a.m. to discuss Letters from Lincoln and the world premiere performances on Feb. 28 and March 1. In addition to offering a unique opportunity to hear from Hampson and Daugherty, this will offer an opportunity to see the use of Internet2, the next generation of internet technology.

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SPOKANE - Spokane’s Lincoln Festival, celebrating the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial, will climax on Feb. 28 and March 1 with the world premiere of Letters from Lincoln composed by Michael Daugherty and performed  by baritone Thomas Hampson and the Spokane Symphony and Music Director Eckart Preu..

Daugherty, one of the most commissioned, performed and recorded composers on the American concert music scene today, was chosen by Preu to write the tribute to Abraham Lincoln’s Bicentennial because his music is rich with cultural and political allusions and bears the stamp of classic modernism, with colliding tonalities and blocks of sound; yet at the same time, his melodies can be eloquent and stirring.

Letters from Lincoln will be presented by the Spokane Symphony with Thomas Hampson on Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. and March 1 at 3 p.m. at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox in Spokane.

Daugherty has been hailed by The Times (London) as “a master icon maker” with a “maverick imagination, fearless structural sense and meticulous ear”.  Daugherty first came to international attention when the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Zinman, performed his Metropolis Symphony at Carnegie Hall in 1994 and the Houston Grand Opera premiered his opera Jackie O in 1996.  Since that time, his music has entered the orchestral, band, opera and chamber music repertory and made him, according to the League of American Orchestras, one of the 10 most performed living American composers.

Because Lincoln was such a famous orator, Preu believed this piece must have words, and that those words should be sung by one of the world’s leading baritones and Spokane native Thomas Hampson.  According to Operacritic.com, “Thomas Hampson possesses one of today’s most beautiful voices, due to an extraordinary symbiosis of vocal and performing powers. To tell stories, to bring them to life, to move and touch us, this is what matters most to him when he appears on stage.”

Following a very successful career in Europe, Hampson recently moved back to New York where he has been receiving rave reviews for performances at the Metropolitan Opera. He recently sang Thais with Renee Fleming and opens Tchiakovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Met this weekend.  His musical versatility has allowed him to be equally successful in opera, operetta, oratorio and musical theater. Hampson made his debut with the Spokane Symphony at the Fox Theater while a student at EasternWashingtonUniversity. He was especially supportive of the restoration of the Fox Theater and presented a benefit concert as part of the opening of the newly restored theater as Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox in December 2007.

Tickets are available for both performances at Martin Woldson Theater Box Office, 1001 W. Sprague, Spokane, by calling 509-624-1200 and at www.spokanesymphony.org. Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m. tickets are $32-$54 and Sunday, March 1, 3 p.m. tickets are $28-$51.