Hailed as a “musician’s musician”, violinist Samuel Thompson continues to earn recognition for his passionate, sensitive and expressive interpretations of works ranging from the Baroque to those of both the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. An intense, high-caliber performer, Samuel's most recent triumph was to have been awarded grants from both the Alternate ROOTS Artistic Assistance Program, which is made possible by funds from the Ford Foundation, and the Haight Bursary Fund to participate in the 2009 Tafelmusik Summer Baroque Summer Institute.

Notable performances in recent seasons include his 2008 debut as concertmaster of the Utah Festival Opera Orchestra, his 2007 Chicago debut on WFMT-FM's Fazioli Salon Series and his 2006 debut at the New Haven International Festival of Arts and Ideas in a multimedia staged recital consisting of unaccompanied works by Bach, Ysäye, and Thomas Benjamin - all of which were met with tremendous audience acclaim.

A seasoned soloist, Samuel was a semifinalist in the 2000 New World Symphony Concerto Competition and has performed with the with the Carolina Amadeus Players Chamber Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, members of Orchestra X, Cortlandt Chamber Orchestra and the Orchard Park Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his solo performances, Samuel is an avid recitalist and chamber musician, having performed with the Marian Anderson String Quartet and members of both the Louisiana Philharmonic and the San Antonio Symphony. In recent seasons, Samuel has been presented at the Columbia Festival of the Arts, the USC Cares: Renewal Through Music Series, the South Carolina Mozart Festival, the Millenium Music Spotlight Series and the Kent State/Ashtabula Classical Concert Series.

Samuel’s ardent and fearless interest in other art forms has led to many appearances with both dance and theatre companies throughout the United States, including his current associations with both Carpetbag Theatre, with whom he performed to critical acclaim throughout the United States in 2008, and London-based Rajni Shah Theatre, with whom he collaborated on the multimedia work “Dinner With America” which is currently touring both Spain and the United Kingdom. Performances in previous seasons include collaborations with opera and stage director Peter Webster, performance artist Ann Carlson at DiverseWorks Artspace (Houston, TX) and the Black Door Dance Company the Colony Theatre (Miami Beach, FL). Samuel has also written for Strings Magazine and maintains a blog, “Life, Musicmaking, and the World.”

2005 was a year of significance for Samuel, as he became the subject of international media attention for his impromptu performances of unaccompanied Bach in both the Louisiana Superdome and New Orleans Basketball Arena during Hurricane Katrina, an event resulting in his inability to participate in the Rodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition which started two days after Thompson was able to leave the storm-ravaged city. Of that moment in time, which was captured by a photographer from the Baton Rouge Advocate, James Horrigan of the Boston Globe wrote: “If Nero's fiddling while Rome burned laid bare the emperor's selfishness and lack of compassion for his countrymen, Thompson's violin playing while New Orleans was underwater exemplifies the opposite.” Maintaining a sense of loyalty to the New Orleans arts community, Samuel has organized and performed in benefit concerts from which the proceeds were directed to both the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Relief Fund, his efforts becoming the subject of an article in the September 2007 International Musician. In August 2006 Samuel was recognized by National Public Radio as one of ten musicians whose work conveys “their spirit, their spunk, and their commitment to Crescent City.”

Samuel has been profiled by Fractured Atlas, the Los Angeles Times, the Seattle Times, Strings Magazine, Jan Herman's “Straight-Up” at Artsjournal.com, the Boston Globe, the Miami Herald, the Miami New Times, the San Antonio Express-News, Relevant Magazine, The Gamecock, China's People in Focus Weekly, OSU Magazine and the Crescent City Chronicles, with his live performances and interviews being broadcast on National Public Radio's “Day to Day”, WSCI-FM's “Conversations with Joan”, KAHL-FM's “Sonny Melendez Show” and KOSU-FM's “Concerts from OSU”.

A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Samuel began playing at the age of nine, making his debut at the age of eighteen with the Carolina Amadeus Players Chamber Orchestra. He studied at both the University of South Carolina and Oklahoma State University, earning the Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University where he studied with Kenneth Goldsmith and Raphael Fliegel. Samuel is a member of the American Federation of Musicians, Alternate ROOTS, and Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. He plays a violin made in 1996 by violinmaker Marilyn Wallin.

Samuel Thompson is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization,

and all contributions made payable to Fractured Atlas in behalf of Samuel Thompson

are tax-deductibe to the exent allowed by law.

To make a contribution to Fractured Atlas in behalf of Samuel, please visit www. fracturedatlas.org.

For more information on Samuel, please visit his blog Life, Musicmaking and the World.