Justin Hopkins shakes hands with the Dalai Lama, for whom he performed in San Francisco in 2009. The world-renowned religious icon said he was inspired by Justin’s stunning performance. (Photo by Robert Bengtson)[/caption]

by Len Lear

Nineteenth century Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle famously wrote, “No pressure, no diamonds.” Or one might paraphrase: “No hard work, no success.” One local living testament to that truism is Justin Hopkins, Mt. Airy opera singer who will perform a scholarship benefit concert Sunday, Feb. 17, 4 p.m., in the Epiphany Chapel at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 500 W. Willow Grove Ave.

It is hard to imagine anyone who has worked harder to achieve an international career as a soloist than Hopkins, 35, a bass-baritone who has received critical raves everywhere he has sung but who always returns home to stay with his parents in between gigs.

“When I was still singing with the Opera Philadelphia chorus,” Hopkins told us last week, “the great tenor Lawrence Brownlee was in the cast of one of the productions. I was just beginning my professional career, and I was feeling a bit frustrated by what I felt was a lack of progress in the field. He told me, ‘In this business, the cream always rises to the top. You may not get there as fast as some of the people you see around you, but in the end you’ll come out on top if you stay in the game.’

“The hardest thing I’ve done was to leave my first management agency. Management is extremely hard to come by right now in the opera world, and I had a lot of fear that my career would fissile and die. Persistent hard work and personal initiative always pays off in the end, though, and my career continues to progress.”

Hopkins began singing at the age of 8 with the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Men’s Chorale. With the group in 1993, he performed Britten’s “War Requiem” with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Wolfgang Sawallisch. A graduate of St. Joseph's Prep and Loyola University in New Orleans, Hopkins has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium; as a soloist with the United Europe Chamber Orchestra in Milan, Italy; and in London with the BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of Keith Lockhart, just to mention a few.

In 2009, the Mt. Airy resident was requested to sing as the featured soloist for His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his visit to San Francisco. (Google his name, and you will read about Hopkins' many other performances in the world's most illustrious concert halls.) For the past three Christmas seasons PBS has played his 2016 performance of “Mary, Did You Know” on “Happy Holidays With The Boston Pops.”

In February of 2016 Justin (second from left) made his Lincoln Center debut singing in Ricky Ian Gordon’s “A Coffin in Egypt.” (Photo by Kevin Yatarola)[/caption]

The concert this Sunday will be dedicated to the memory of Paul Robeson, one of the most extraordinary Americans who ever lived. Robeson (1898-1976), the son of a former slave who achieved distinction as an actor, athlete, lawyer, opera singer and author who was persecuted by the federal government for his political activism. Hopkins requested that the songs he will perform not be mentioned in this article. He wants them to be a surprise.

For the past five years, Hopkins has sung as a guest soloist at Cresheim Valley Church in Chestnut Hill for their Sunday morning service when he was not on tour. Pastor John Leonard approached him last summer about singing the Feb. 17 recital and having the proceeds go to the formation of a scholarship for an area public school student.

“I was happy that my schedule had me in the area this month to be able to do the concert,” Hopkins said. “When Pastor Leonard approached me about the concert, I knew almost immediately that I would center the program around Robeson. I sang with the Philadelphia Boys Choir, and when my voice changed at age 13, then-choir director Dr. Hamilton placed ‘Ol’ Man River’ in front of me to sing…

“Robeson originated the role of Joe in ‘Show Boat’ in 1928. I knew little to nothing of Robeson at the time. From that point on, I began my study and research into the life and music of this great man. I sang ‘Ol’ Man River’ all over the world with the Boys Choir, and it continued to be one of my main staples into my professional career. I sang it for the Dalai Lama in San Francisco in 2010.

“Robeson’s call for justice and equality at home and around the world cost him his career, but his fight against fascism and racism resonates as much today as it did then. That fight is very important to me as a black man in today’s U.S. and the world in general. If I had one-eighth of the talent and courage that Robeson had, I would be a great man. He remains one of my greatest influences as an artist and as a thinking human being.”

Hopkins’ dad, Dr. Kenneth Hopkins, is a retired psychologist who worked for the Philadelphia School District. Both of his parents are retired from the School District. They met as 4th and 5th grade teachers at T.M. Pierce School in the early '70s. His dad became a psychologist in the early ’80s and his mom, Sherry, an administrator in the late ’80s.

“My mother played classical piano at a fairly high level into her late teens,” said Hopkins, an only child. “In the late '80s she joined her sorority choir, AKA Omega Ensemble. I would go with her to rehearsals and rush to finish my homework so that I could listen along and memorize the songs.”

Hopkins wanted to make sure we mention both of his sets of grandparents, of whom he is extremely proud. His dad’s dad, Lucius Hopkins, who was in the Army during World War II, and his dad’s mom, Edythe, both passed away in 2017 just over two months apart. “They were married for 71 years, and once my grandfather died, my grandmother just couldn’t bear to live without him. My mom’s parents died within 2 1/2 months of each other as well. The fact that a love can be this powerful amazes, comforts and reassures me.”

Hopkins’ maternal grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Fields, was born in South Carolina in 1914. He and his wife, Elizabeth, lived at Chew and Upsal Streets in Mt. Airy right after World War II until they both died in 1998. Thomas was a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy and took part in many battles in the Pacific theater of World War II while on a cruiser, “The Portland.” (Hopkins' father was also an Air Force man, starting his four-year stint in 1966.)

Fields and his wife are both buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery on Cheltenham Avenue, which is a coincidence of sorts because Hopkins used to work there. “It is one of my favorite places in the world,” he said. “In my earlier years, I would work summers as a groundskeeper at Ivy Hill Cemetery to supplement my wages. I loved that job.”

For more information on Sunday’s concert, call 215-740-3759.