Makeda D. Hampton, Coloratura Soprano
Makeda D. Hampton, coloratura soprano, is a native of New Castle, Delaware. Her operatic roles include First Spirit in Die Zauberflöte, Lucy in The Telephone, and Adele in Die Fledermaus. Other roles in scenes and productions include Norina in Don Pasquale, Madame Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor, Olympia in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, and Ruthie in Grapes of Wrath. In 2010, Ms. Hampton made her professional chorus debut with New Jersey State Opera in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. As a concert soloist, she has performed Handel’s Messiah with the Huntsville Youth Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra Chamber Ensemble.
Ms. Hampton has sung on stages across the United States and parts of Europe. She has had the opportunity to sing with acclaimed artists John Legend, Jessye Norman, Stephanie Blythe, and Angela Brown. A voice scholar of the Marian Anderson Historical Society, Ms. Hampton was the featured artist for a gala recently held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, with the mayor in attendance. While a student at the American Institute of Musical Studies, she performed in many recitals throughout Austria’s historic Steiermark. Ms. Hampton was also a young artist for the 2009 season of the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival in Waimea, Hawaii. She performed extensively throughout the Big Island and collaborated with the leading American opera composer, Ricky Ian Gordon.
As an ensemble artist, Ms. Hampton has toured and recorded with the American Spiritual Ensemble (Lexington, KY), the Lloyd Mallory Singers (Takoma Park, MD) and the Abyssinian Baptist Church Chorale (Harlem, NYC). She has toured Bermuda, Spain and Portugal with the then Oakwood College Aeolians, where she also performed as a soloist. While a member of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Ms. Hampton participated in Carnegie Hall's opening ceremony for the 2007-2008 concert season. The chorus performed major works with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductors David Robertson, Franz Welser-Möst, and Christoph Eschenbach.
Ms. Hampton has been very successful in well-known singing competitions which include the University of Kentucky's Alltech Opera Competition (4th place), Alabama NATS Auditions (3rd place), Classical Singer Convention AudComps (finalist), the Montpelier Arts Center Classical Recital Competition (Grand Prize), and the Austrian-American Society Music Competition (2nd place).
Ms. Hampton is currently on the voice faculty of Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. She earned a master of music degree in vocal performance & pedagogy from Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ), where she studied with Laura Brooks Rice. Previous studies were with Dr. Angelique Clay at Oakwood College where she received a bachelor of music degree in voice performance & pedagogy.
