Kathleen Battle’s soaring voice has carried her to the heights of the classical music world. The range of the five-time Grammy winner’s repertoire spans three centuries from the Baroque era to contemporary works, which she performs with symphony orchestras and in recital halls around the world. Perhaps what distinguishes this luminous soprano most is her almost magical ability to create an unwavering bond with audiences through a voice that is “…without qualification, one of the very few most beautiful in the world” (Washington Post).

Described by the New York Times as “one of America’s finest artists and singers,” Frederica von Stade continues to be extolled as one of the music world’s most beloved figures. Known to family, friends, and fans by her nickname “Flicka,” the mezzo-soprano has enriched the world of classical music for four and a half decades.

Though she retired from full-time performances in 2010, she continues to make special appearances in concert and opera. Recent season performances have included the world premiere of Lembit Beecher’s Sky on Swings at Opera Philadelphia; a performance alongside Susan Graham for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s DiMenna Center Benefit in New York City; a return to the San Diego Opera where she portrayed Madeline in Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers, a role she created a decade ago, based on the play by Terrence McNally; opening the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s season with a tribute to Leonard Bernstein conducted by Andris Nelsons; singing with Tony award-winning Broadway star Liz Callaway, Daniel Rodriguez, and Matthew Lee Robinson in the New York premiere of the 45-minute cantata Street Requiem – composed in 2014 by Australian’s Kathleen McGuire, Andy Payne and Jonathon Welch – at Carnegie Hall; making her Arizona Opera debut by joining The 45th Anniversary Sapphire Celebration concert celebrating the company; performing on a gala benefit concert with Sarasota Ballet in Florida; and singing with Hawaii Opera Theater in Three Decembers. She also gave master classes at the Peabody Conservatory.

Ms. von Stade’s career has taken her to the stages of the world’s great opera houses and concert halls. She began at the top, when she received a contract from Sir Rudolf Bing during the Metropolitan Opera auditions, and since her debut in 1970 she has sung nearly all of her great roles with that company. In January 2000, the company celebrated the 30th anniversary of her debut with a new production of The Merry Widow specifically for her, and in 1995, as a celebration of her 25th anniversary, the Metropolitan Opera created for her a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande. In addition, Ms. von Stade has appeared with every leading American opera company, including San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Los Angeles Opera. Her career in Europe has been no less spectacular, with new productions mounted for her at Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera. She is invited regularly by the finest conductors, among them Claudio Abbado, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Leonard Slatkin, and Michael Tilson Thomas, to appear in concert with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Washington’s National Symphony, and the Orchestra of La Scala.

With impressive versatility, Ms. von Stade has effortlessly traversed an ever-broadening spectrum of musical styles and dramatic characterizations. A noted bel canto specialist, she excelled as the heroines of Rossini’s La cenerentola and Il barbiere di Siviglia and Bellini’s La sonnambula. She is an unmatched stylist in the French repertoire: a delectable Mignon or Périchole, a regal Marguerite in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, and, in one critic’s words, “the Mélisande of one’s dreams.” Her elegant figure and keen imagination have made her the world’s 

favorite interpreter of the great trouser roles, from Strauss’s Octavian to Mozart’s Sesto, Idamante and - magically, indelibly - Cherubino. Ms. von Stade’s artistry has inspired the revival of neglected works such as Massenet’s Cherubin, Thomas’ Mignon, Rameau’s Dardanus, and Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. Her ability as a singing actress has allowed her to portray wonderful works in operetta and musical theater including the title role in The Merry Widow and Desirée Armfeldt in A Little Night Music.

Ms. von Stade enjoys close collaborations with several contemporary composers, including Jake Heggie, Ricky Ian Gordon, and Dominick Argento, among others. She created the role of Tina in The Dallas Opera’s world premiere production of Dominick Argento’s The Aspern Papers (a work written for her), as well as the role of Madame de Merteuil in Conrad Susa’s Dangerous Liaisons and Mrs. Patrick De Rocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, both for San Francisco Opera. Ms. von Stade created the role of Myrtle Bledsoe in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s A Coffin in Egypt at Houston Grand Opera, a role she later reprised at Opera Philadelphia, The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, and with the Chicago Opera Theater. Ms. von Stade will also create the role of Mrs. Edward “Winnie” Flato in the world premiere of Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s Great Scott directed by Jack O’Brien, with performances at The Dallas Opera and San Diego Opera.

Ms. von Stade’s orchestral repertoire is equally broad, embracing works from the Baroque to those of today’s composers. She has garnered critical and popular acclaim in her vast French repertoire as one of the world’s finest interpreters of Ravel’s Shéhérazade, Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été, and Canteloube’s Les chants d’Auvergne, as well as the orchestrated songs of Debussy and Duparc. She is continually in demand for the symphonic works of the great Austrian and German composers including Mozart and Mahler, as well as the new works of American composers.

It was the American composer Richard Danielpour who in 1998 helped Ms. von Stade to realize an artistic and personal dream when he wrote Elegies. The work, scored for orchestra, mezzo-soprano and baritone, is a tribute to Ms. von Stade’s father, Charles von Stade, who was killed in the final days of World War II, and is based on the text of letters Mr. von Stade sent to his wife during the war. It is through these letters that Ms. von Stade came to know her father, who died two months before her birth. In January 1998 the Jacksonville Symphony, led by Roger Nierenberg, offered the world premiere of Elegies with performances in Florida and in New York’s Carnegie Hall. Elegies is available on SONY Classical and has been performed throughout North America and Europe.

Unparalleled in her artistry as a recitalist, Ms. von Stade combines her expressive vocalism and exceptional musicianship with a rare gift for communication, enriching audiences throughout the world. Here, too, her repertoire encompasses a rich variety, from the classical style of Mozart and Haydn to Broadway; from Italian “Arie antiche” to the songs of contemporary composers - who compose especially for her - such as Dominick Argento and Jake Heggie.

She has made over seventy recordings with every major label, including complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs, and popular crossover albums. Her recordings have garnered six Grammy nominations, two Grand Prix du Disc awards, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Italy’s Premio della Critica Discografica, and “Best of the Year” citations by Stereo Review and Opera News. She has enjoyed the distinction of holding simultaneously the first and second places on national sales charts for Angel/EMI’s Show Boat and Telarc’s The Sound of Music.

Ms. von Stade appears regularly on television, through numerous PBS and other broadcasts. In 2002 she was seen on national television in a concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as part of the opening ceremonies of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. In 2001 she participated in the opening of Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts performing in a concert together with Sir Elton John, Andre Watts, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Other highlights of recent television appearances include a gala concert with the San Francisco Symphony to open the 1998-99 season at New York’s Carnegie Hall and a "Live from Lincoln Center" television event opening the 1999 season of the Mostly Mozart Festival, both broadcast throughout North America. She can be seen in “Live from the Met” performances as Cherubino, Hansel, and Idamante, and through PBS broadcasts of her celebration of the art of American song with Thomas Hampson, Marilyn Horne, Dawn Upshaw and Jerry Hadley in a program at New York’s Town Hall titled “I Hear America Singing,” as well as a program with Tyne Daly which included arias, art songs and popular crossover material. Also seen on PBS were a holiday special, "Christmas with Flicka," shot on location in Salzburg, “A Carnegie Hall Christmas” with Kathleen Battle, and an evening of operatic and musical theater selections with Samuel Ramey and Jerry Hadley titled “Flicka and Friends.” Her recent portrayals in Dangerous Liaisons and The Aspern Papers were broadcast throughout North America. She can also be seen in the Unitel film of the classic Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production of La cenerentola.

Ms. von Stade is the holder of honorary doctorates from Yale University, Boston University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (which holds a Frederica von Stade Distinguished Chair in Voice), the Georgetown University School of Medicine, and her alma mater, the Mannes School of Music. In 1998 Ms. von Stade was awarded France’s highest honor in the Arts when she was appointed as an officer of L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 1983 she was honored with an award given at The White House by President Reagan in recognition of her significant contribution to the arts.

Long recognized as one of the most innovative musicians of our time, American baritone Thomas Hampson has received countless international honours for his singular artistry and cultural leadership. His operatic repertoire is comprised of more than 80 roles, and his discography includes more than 170 albums, with multiple nominations and winners of the GRAMMY Award, Edison Award, and the Grand Prix du Disque.

Highlights of Thomas Hampson’s 2022/2023 season on the concert stage include a gala concert with Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Luisi and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham. He also sings Mahler songs with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon and MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig with whom he also tours to the Philharmonie Berlin and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, in addition to playing a vital role in the Mahler Festival Leipzig. Hampson also reunites with bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni for their acclaimed “No Tenors Allowed” program with the Würth Philharmoniker.

Chamber music projects see Hampson perform in the opening season concert with the New Century Chamber Orchestra and Daniel Hope. He will appear in recital at Turku Music Festival with Vlad Iftinca and in the Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam, Mozart-Saal, Stuttgart and Schloss Elmau with Wolfram Rieger. He also sings Schumann’s Dichterliebe at the KKL Luzern with Martha Argerich.

Later in the season, Hampson will return to Opéra national de Paris for his greatly anticipated role debut as Richard Nixon in Adams’ Nixon in China, led by Gustavo Dudamel.

Last season, he created the role of Jan Vermeer in the world premiere of Stefan Wirth’s Girl with a Pearl Earring at Opernhaus Zürich and starred as Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Hampson returned to the Teatro Real de Madrid and traveled to the Festival Castell de Peralada to star in the title role of Rufus Wainwright’s Hadrian. On the concert stage, he joined the Oslo Philharmonic and cellist Sol Gabetta for a concert led by Klaus Mäkelä, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Klangforum Wien, and Prague Symphony, among others. His recital performances included organ recitals with Martin Haselböck at the Dresdner Philharmonie, with Christian Schmitt at Tonhalle Zürich, and a recital with Wolfram Rieger at Alte Kirche Boswil.

Hampson is an honorary professor of Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg and an honorary member of London’s Royal Academy of Music. In addition to several Honorary Doctorates, he is a Kammersänger of the Wiener Staatsoper and Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the Republic of France. In 2017 he received the Hugo Wolf Medal, together with Wolfram Rieger. Hampson is the co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Lied Academy Heidelberg. Further teaching commitments include returning for the fourth edition of Opernwerkstatt Waiblingen with Melanie Diener. In 2003, he founded the Hampsong Foundation, through which he uses the art of song to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding. His international master class schedule is a continuing online resource of Medici.tv, the Manhattan School of Music, and The Hampsong Foundation livestream channel.

Pianist Wu Han, recipient of Musical America’s Musician of the Year Award, enjoys a multi-faceted musical life that encompasses artistic direction, performing, and recording at the highest levels. Co-Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2004 as well as Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Silicon Valley’s innovative chamber music festival Music@Menlo since 2002, she also serves as Artistic Advisor for Wolf Trap’s Chamber Music at the Barns series and Palm Beach’s Society of the Four Arts, and as Artistic Director for La Musica in Sarasota, Florida. Her recent concert activities have taken her from New York’s Lincoln Center stages to the most important concert halls in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In addition to countless performances of virtually the entire chamber repertoire, her concerto performances include appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, and the Aspen Festival Orchestra. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of ArtistLed, classical music’s first artist-directed, internet-based recording label, which has released her performances of the staples of the cello-piano duo repertoire with cellist David Finckel. Her more than 80 releases on ArtistLed, CMS Live, and Music@Menlo LIVE include masterworks of the chamber repertoire with numerous distinguished musicians. Wu Han’s educational activities include overseeing CMS’s Bowers Program and the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo. A recipient of the prestigious Andrew Wolf Award, she was mentored by some of the greatest pianists of our time, including Lilian Kallir, Rudolf Serkin, and Menahem Pressler. Married to cellist David Finckel since 1985, Wu Han divides her time between concert touring and residences in New York City and Westchester County.

American violinist Chad Hoopes is a consistent and versatile performer with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, l’Orchestre de Paris, l’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and the Minnesota and National Arts Centre orchestras, as well the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Houston, and National symphonies. An alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, he performs regularly on tour and at Alice Tully Hall with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has been a guest of the Moritzburg Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, and Aspen Music Festival, and has been featured on recordings including the recent Moritzburg Festival Dvořák album with cellist Jan Vogler, released by Sony Classical, and with the MDR Leipzig and conductor Kristjan Järvi performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto on the Naïve label. He has performed in recital at the Ravinia Festival, the Tonhalle Zürich, and the Louvre, as well as on Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series. He is a 2017 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant and appeared as the cover feature on the November 2021 edition of The Strad. Hoopes attended the Cleveland Institute of Music before studying with Ana Chumachenco at the Kronberg Academy. He plays the 1991 Samuel Zygmuntowicz, ex Isaac Stern violin.

Violist Paul Neubauer has been called a “master musician” by the New York Times. He recently made his Chicago Symphony subscription debut with conductor Riccardo Muti. He also gave the US premiere of the newly discovered Impromptu for viola and piano by Shostakovich with pianist Wu Han. In addition, his recording of the Aaron Kernis Viola Concerto with the Royal Northern Sinfonia was released on Signum Records, and his recording of the complete viola/piano music by Ernest Bloch with pianist Margo Garrett was released on Delos. Appointed principal violist of the New York Philharmonic at age 21, he has appeared as soloist with over 100 orchestras including the New York, Los Angeles, and Helsinki philharmonics; National, St. Louis, Detroit, Dallas, San Francisco, and Bournemouth symphonies; and Santa Cecilia, English Chamber, and Beethovenhalle orchestras. He has premiered viola concertos by Bartók (revised version of the Viola Concerto), Friedman, Glière, Jacob, Kernis, Lazarof, Müller-Siemens, Ott, Penderecki, Picker, Suter, and Tower, and has been featured on CBS's Sunday Morning and A Prairie Home Companion as well as in Strad, Strings, and People magazines. A two-time Grammy nominee, he has recorded on numerous labels including Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, RCA Red Seal, and Sony Classical, and is a member of SPA, a trio with soprano Susanna Phillips and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. Neubauer is the artistic director of the Mostly Music series in New Jersey and is on the faculty of the Juilliard School and Mannes College.

David Washburn is the principal trumpet of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and associate principal trumpet of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. Previously, he served as principal trumpet and soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Redlands Symphony. He has been a featured soloist with such orchestras as the Los Angeles, St. Louis, Hong Kong, and California philharmonics; the Los Angeles, San Diego, St. Matthew’s, and South Bay chamber orchestras; and the Berkeley, Burbank, and Glendale symphonies. He has performed at the Taipei Music and Academy Festival Santa Fe, La Jolla, and Music@Menlo chamber music festivals as well as with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Active in the recording studio, he has played principal trumpet for the soundtracks of Spiderman: Far From Home, Incredibles 2, Rogue One, Coco, A Quiet Place, Spiderman Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes, Fast and Furious 7, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Independence Day Resurgence, Godzilla, The Amazing Spiderman, White House Down, Karate Kid, Avatar, The Legend of Zorro, A Beautiful Mind, Troy, Titanic, and Deep Impact. He has also been a member of John Williams’s trumpet section for over 20 years, recently recording Star Wars Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. He is currently a faculty member at Azusa Pacific University and Biola University. He received his master’s degree with distinction from the New England Conservatory and his bachelor’s degree from the Thornton Music School at the University of Southern California.