Thomas Hampson Elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

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American Baritone Now in Zurich for Production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin

Now celebrating its 230th anniversary, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has elected baritone Thomas Hampson as one of its new members. A center for independent policy research, the Academy is among the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary societies, and Hampson is one of 229 leaders in the arts, humanities, sciences, business, and public affairs to be awarded membership this year. The new 2010 members will be inducted at a ceremony on October 9, at the Academy's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"To be included amongst such prominent cultural and civic leaders for membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences fills me with enormous pride and gratitude," says Thomas Hampson. "The study and celebration of cultural and intellectual identity, whether in the US or abroad, has always been extremely important to me as a human being and as an artist. I share this honor in spirit with all the individuals who have helped shape and continue to shape our society, whether in the arts, business, public affairs or the various academic disciplines. Promoting cross-disciplinary intellectual dialogue has never been more important than today and is crucial for how we continue to develop this country and the world.”

Thomas Hampson is in excellent company: In the arts and humanities, other new members include theologian Harvey Cox, Jr.; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Daniel Howe; Suzanne Farrell, former New York City Ballet principal dancer and founder of her own ballet company at the Kennedy Center; actors John Lithgow and Denzel Washington; director Francis Ford Coppola; and jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins. The new members in the 2010 class include winners of the Nobel, Pulitzer, and Shaw Prizes; MacArthur and Guggenheim fellows; and Grammy, Tony, and Oscar Award winners. Since its founding in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock, and other scholar-patriots, the Academy has elected intellectual leaders from each generation, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Webster, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 winners of the Pulitzer Prize.

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