Samuel Thompson

Samuel Thompson enjoys a career as a performer, educator, journalist and arts administrator. Recent solo appearances include the premiere of playwright Bill Barclay’s The Black Mozart at the Tanglewood Music Center and the East Coast premiere of Florence Price's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey.

Samuel has been heard in venues including The REACH at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall,
the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), August Wilson African-American Cultural Center (Pittsburgh), Wortham Theatre Center (Houston) and Koerner Hall (Toronto) in addition to numerous concerts and recitals in cities including New Haven, Washington DC, Baltimore, Austin, Chicago, Miami, and both Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. Internationally, he has been appeared on stages in the Bahamas, Guadeloupe and Cameroon, and has participated in Spoleto Festival USA, the Gateways Music Festival, the Colour of Music Festival and the International Saint-Georges Festival.

An active member of the Baltimore/Washington arts community, Samuel appeared as guest concertmaster of the Peabody Concert Opera for the 2016 premiere of Paul Crabtree's The Ghost Train, and he performs regularly with Philadelphia’s Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra and several ensembles in Washington DC. Dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion in arts education, Samuel became Program Director of the Bridges Music Program after two years as a program instructor.

In 2019, Samuel was commissioned to write an article titled “Who’s Fighting for Racial Diversity in Classical Music” for online industry magazine 21cm.org. He has also written for Strings Magazine, the San José Chamber Orchestra, online industry magazine Violinist.com and Nigel Kennedy Online.

Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Samuel received the Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music where he studied with Kenneth Goldsmith and Raphael Fliegel. He also studied at Oklahoma State University and the University of South Carolina.

Blog Posts

2022: Sep. Oct.

2017: May Jun. Jul. Oct.

2016: May Aug. Nov.

2015: Mar. Apr. Jun. Jul.

2014: Jan. Mar. May

2013: Aug.

2012: Aug.

2011: Jan. May

2010: Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov.

2009: Apr. May Nov.

2008: Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Nov.

2007: Mar. May Jun. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

2006: Jan. Feb. Jun. Aug. Sep. Oct.

2005: Nov. Dec.