James Thompson

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James Thompson is currently Professor of Trumpet at the Eastman School of Music. He came to this position having played Principal Trumpet in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra He has held corresponding positions with the Phoenix Symphony, the Orchestra of the State of Mexico, the National Symphony of Mexico, and for 14 years, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, he was raised in Phoenix, Arizona where he began trumpet studies at the age of ten. His principal teachers included Richard Longfield and Roger Voisin.

Mr. Thompson has been active both as a soloist and a teacher. He has taught trumpet and Brass Ensemble at Northern Arizona University, the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City, and McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has also performed as soloist with orchestras in North and South America as well as Europe. In 1979 he competed in the first Maurice Andre International Trumpet Competition and was a prizewinner. He has made recital tours to Australia, Asia, Europe, North and South America. He has also been a guest artist with the Summit Brass, a brass chamber ensemble made up of members from America’s finest orchestras, and Chicago’s Music of the Baroque.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Opening Ceremonies he was seen performing a jazz/gospel trumpet solo on television more than 3 billion people. In the last few years he has performed as guest Principal Trumpet with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as Boston, Baltimore Seattle and orchestras in Italy and Germany. He has also performed as Principal Trumpet with the Orchestra Toscanini , an Italian ensemble under the direction of  Loren Mazel.

Mr. Thompson can be heard on London Decca recordings with the Montreal Symphony, and Telarc’s Atlanta Symphony releases. He has also recorded on the Chandos Label in performances, which include, Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets, and the critically acclaimed Shostakovich Concerto #1 for Piano, Trumpet and Strings.  In recent years he has recorded Danzante , a CD for Summit Records, of Trumpet concertos with the Eastman Wind Ensemble and American Portrait, Music  for Trumpet and Piano, for the ITG. Mr. Thompson is a Yamaha Performing Artist.