Richard Thompson

Richard Thompson is a performer and composer whose work combines African-American and European traditions. Originally from Aberdeen, Scotland, Thompson made his debut as a pianist at the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, in 1984. Thompson’s orchestral appearances include concerts with the Orchestra Nova, San Diego, San Diego State University Symphony Orchestra, Glasgow Chamber Orchestra, and Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra. 

In 1999, Thompson was awarded the first Individual Artist Award for classical music composition from the  Brooklyn Arts Council. His piece, Legend of the Moors — a musical depiction of the presence and influence of the Moors in Spain during the Middle Ages — premiered at the Brooklyn Conservatory. 

Thompson’s recordings include the 2006 release Poetry Prelude, an album of original compositions on the Visionary Records label, distributed by Albany Records. Poetry Prelude includes his two song cycles: settings of the poetry of Langston Hughes (Dream Variations) and of Paul Laurence Dunbar (The Shadow of Dawn). In 2006, Arabesque Records released Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, a collection of Thompson’s arrangements of well known spirituals performed by his New York based jazz group Mirage. 

In 2011, San Diego’s Orchestra Nova commissioned Thompson to write a concerto grosso for jazz quartet and string orchestra. The final movement of the piece was premiered in San Diego in 2011 together with his orchestral arrangements of two spirituals, Wade in the Water and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. 

Thompson’s chamber opera, The Mask in the Mirror — a dramatization of the courtship and marriage of poet Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Ruth Moore — premiered in 2012. The studio recording of this work, conducted by Stephen Tucker, was released by PARMA Recordings in 2019 and distributed by Naxos.  

Thompson’s recent works include Five Aspects of Othello, composed for the operatic bass Kevin Maynor and chamber orchestra. It consists of settings of five soliloquies from Shakespeare’s play.  

Thompson earned his undergraduate degree in music from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, his  Master’s Degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and a jazz diploma from Berklee College of Music in Boston. While at Rutgers, Thompson studied jazz piano with Kenny Barron and classical piano with Theodore Lettvin. 

Thompson is currently Associate Professor of Music at San Diego State University, where he teaches music theory, jazz performance, and jazz history. He performs in both jazz and classical concerts as a soloist and in many chamber groups, including his own jazz quintet. 

2021 a Celebration of Black Music; a series of three concerts at the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, curated by  Thomas Hampson. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Black Pierrot, two of Thompson’s songs from Dream Variations, were performed by tenor Lawrence Brownlee. 

In 2021, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra premiered Thompson’s Mask Suite. The suite consists of music from his opera, The Mask in the Mirror. The concert, conducted by Anna-Maria Helsing, included pieces by Dvorak and Florence Price. 

Songs of Joy, a concert given in 2023 at the Barbican, London, celebrated art songs by Black Composers. Thompson’s Black Pierrot was performed by soprano Nadine Benjamin, accompanied by Caroline Jaya-Ratnam. 

In 2023, the Seattle Opera presented an evening of music by Black composers. Six of Thompson’s songs were performed, from his Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes song cycles and also a duet from The Mask in the Mirror. The performers were Martin Bakari (tenor), Ellaina Lewis (soprano), and Joe Williams (piano). 

The English Chamber Orchestra commissioned a piece from Thompson to celebrate Windrush Day in June 2023. The piece, written for a septet from the ECO, school choirs, and a soprano, was performed at the London Transport Museum on four occasions.  

In 2024 The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, together with Pegasus Opera, performed excerpts from Thompson’s Aspects of Othello and Desdemona. The concerts took place in Tung Hall, Liverpool, and the Bernie Grant Center in Tottenham, London. The concerts were a part of the annual Windrush celebration, which celebrates the Caribbean presence in the U.K. Pegasus Opera has continued the celebration with a touring ensemble, traveling to Birmingham, Bristol, and back to London.

Discover more from Thompson at the links below:

We Wear the Mask with the English National Opera 

2021 Interview with Thomas Hampson 

Kim Davenport performs Thompson’s Six Preludes