Song is a metaphor of the imagination; it is poetic thought encapsulated in music.
Poetry, while having many forms, is driven by the basic instinct to tell the story of existence.
— Thomas Hampson

 

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Treasured Friends of singing and the art form song!

What enthusiasm for culture actually means is, in my opinion, a curiosity for all the things we can’t see but rather sense, for all the things we search for, things that make up the very substance of our existence as human beings. The “journal” of this human searching I think is found in the songs of every culture. There is something inherently vivacious and indestructible in song and singing: In fact, should our civilization, all of our culture, be destroyed and taken from us – it would be singing, this most personal and natural form of musical expression, that would first reappear.

With this credo I mean to address all of you and every person who holds the preservation and furthering of the values found in the great creations of art, and especially music, as a concern and a joyous responsibility. Beauty, sense and entertainment are not things opposed to one another, even though what we call the entertainment industry of today is constantly trying to make us believe so. In fact each kind of art is the diary of our existence – the proof that we were. With the HAMPSONG Foundation, we want to make a point in favor of art, of music, of singing. And we are looking for like-minded individuals.

Join us!

Yours truly,

 

Thomas Hampson