Richard Thompson is a performer and composer whose work encompasses jazz and Third Stream composition. Originally from Aberdeen, Scotland, Mr. Thompson made his debut as a pianist at the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, in 1984. Mr. Thompson’s orchestral appearances include concerts with the Orchestra Nova, San Diego, San Diego State University Symphony Orchestra, the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra, and the Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra.

 

In 1999 Mr. 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—was premiered at the Brooklyn Conservatory.

 

Richard Thompson’s recordings include the 2006 release Poetry Prelude, a CD 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 Mr. Thompson’s arrangements of well-known spirituals performed by his New York based jazz group Mirage.

 

In 2011 Orchestra Nova, San Diego commissioned Mr. 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."

 

Mr. 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—was premiered in 2012 by Trilogy Opera, based in Newark, New Jersey, under the artistic directorship of Kevin Maynor. The studio recording of this work, conducted by Stephen Tucker, was released by Parma Records in 2019. It is currently being distributed by Naxos.

 

Mr. 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.

 

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

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In 2019 Mr. Thompson’ opera, Sassie (commissioned by Trilogy Opera), about the life of Sarah Vaughan, was premiered at the New Jersey Perming Arts Center.

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In 2020 the English National Opera created a film of performances of art songs written by Black composers. Mr. Thompson’s setting of Paul Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” was performed Ronald Samm. [Performance on YouTube.]

 

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “Black Pierrot,” two songs from the Dream Variations cycle, were performed by tenor Lawrence Brownlee in 2021 as part of a Celebration of Black Music, a series of three concerts at the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, curated by Thomas Hampson. [Interview with Thomas Hampson on YouTube]

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Also 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.

 

In 2022 Mr. Thompson’s opera Fannie Lou, I’m Sick and Tired—commissioned by Trilogy Opera—was premiered at the New Jersey Perming Arts Center.

 

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 Nadine Benjamin, soprano, accompanied by Caroline Jaya-Ratnam.

 

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

 

The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) commissioned a piece from Thompson to celebrate Windrush Day, in June 2023. The piece, written for septet (from the ECO), school choirs, and 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 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.

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Mr. Thompson is currently Professor Emeritus in the School of Music and Dance at San Diego State University, where he teaches music theory and composition, orchestration, jazz performance, and jazz history.