Our GUEST Conductor

Conductor, composer and educator Neal Hampton brings a wealth of varied experience to the podium. Born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia, he is the Founder and Director of the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra and currently serves on the faculties of both Brandeis University and Wellesley College. He also holds the position of Assistant Conductor of the Plymouth Philharmonic in Massachusetts.

Mr. Hampton’s conducting engagements include appearances with the Savannah Symphony, The Rhode Island Philharmonic, The Handel and Haydn Society, The Tallahassee Symphony (with Marcus Roberts), The Springfield (MA) Symphony, and London’s Westminster Philharmonic on their concert tour to Nova Scotia, among others. He most recently led several performances with the Plymouth Philharmonic, and was engaged as cover conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Past conducting posts include Music Director of the Genesee (NY) Symphony, the Lowell (MA) Philharmonic, Conductor of the Boston College Symphony Orchestra and Associate Director for Orchestra Activities at the Boston University School of Music.  

An advocate for new music, he has premiered numerous contemporary works and composed for ballet, theater and film. Highlights include incidental music for the Canadian Premier of Lanford Wilson’s Book of Days, a choral arrangement featured on the Columbia Pictures release of Mona Lisa Smile and Find Our Voice, commissioned by the Plymouth County School District and premiered by the Plymouth Philharmonic.

His musical adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (book and lyrics by Jeffrey Haddow) received its world premiere at the Denver Center Theatre Company, staged by Tony-nominated director Marcia Milgrom Dodge, and has enjoyed productions in the UK in 2023 and 2024, with a tour of England and Wales planned for 2025.

Mr. Hampton holds degrees in conducting and composition from the Eastman School of Music and Boston University School of Music. Further conducting studies include master classes at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors, the Conductor’s Retreat at Medomak, and at the Tanglewood Seminar for Conductors.