Dr. James Hampson, Artistic Advisor
Dr. James Hampson fell in love with classical music while pursuing a combined Bachelor’s/Master’s in Electrical Engineering. Also minoring in music, he was taking a Mozart Opera class and first learned about the natural horn, the valveless predecessor of the modern French Horn.
He became so fascinated with the natural horn in Mozart’s music that he decided that day to make music his career. He holds a Doctorate from Boston University in Historical Performance on natural and historic horns as the first person in the country to pursue this degree.
Dr. Hampson has performed all over the United States with period orchestras such as the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, Mercury Orchestra in Houston, and the Albany Consort in San Francisco. He can be heard on Handel and Haydn Society’s live recording, Haydn Vol. 1, and Clarion Music Society’s Judas Maccabaeus.
He has given masterclasses and recitals at renowned conservatories such as the Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Washington, and SUNY Fredonia, as well as taught a natural horn course at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Outside of music his hobbies include hiking, kayaking, and hanging out with his wife Ashley and identical twins Charlie and Theodore.