Walter Thompson (born May 31, 1952, in
West Palm Beach
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
) is a
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
,
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
,
saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
,
percussionist
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
, and
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
. He created the multidisciplinary live composing sign language,
Soundpainting.
In 2001 Thompson won a Sebastià Gasch FAD Award for Soundpainting.
Collaborative work
Thompson has composed Soundpaintings with many contemporary orchestras in many cities around the world, including Barcelona, Paris, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Oslo, Berlin, Bergen, Lucerne, Copenhagen, and Reykjavik, among others, and has taught Soundpainting at the
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
;
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman.
It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...
;
Iceland Academy of the Arts
History
Iceland University of the Arts ( is, Listaháskóli Íslands ) is an Icelandic institution of higher art education, located in Reykjavík, which offers the only university-level degrees in the arts in Iceland.Lisa Z. ValdimarsdottirIcel ...
;
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
;
Grieg Academy The Grieg Academy ( no, Griegakademiet) is a disputed historical term used to refer to the higher education music programs in Bergen, Norway (birthplace of composer Edvard Grieg), as well as various collaborations across music institutions in Bergen ...
in Bergen, Norway;
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
;
Oberlin College Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of ...
; and
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
, among many others.
Selected recordings
*SP4tet – Dane Recordings (Mr. Thompson's Soundpainting string quartet).
*New York Soundpainting Orchestra – with Soundpainter's Walter Thompson and Evan Mazunik – Dane Recordings (release TBA soon).
*Six Soundpainting Compositions with Anthony Braxton, Walter Thompson and the Walter Thompson Orchestra (release TBA soon).
*Walter Thompson/Olle Karlsson Duo – Dane Recordings.
*PEXO 111004 DVD (Dane Records).
*PEXO (CD) -A Soundpainting Symphony (Nine Winds Records).
*Steve Rust Soundpainting Sextet – Walter Thompson Soundpainter – Dane Recordings.
*Side Show Time – Walter Thompson Soundpainter – Dane Recordings.
*Deconstructing Haydn – Walter Thompson Soundpainter, Gil Selinger soloist (Novodisc Recordings).
*Code of The West-with Joe Gallant (Scratchy Records).
*The Colonel (Nine Winds Records).
*Not for Rollo (Ottava Records).
*Various-John Zorn's Cobra (Knitting Factory Works).
*520 OUT (Dane Records).
*Symphony of the Universe-with Wendy Mae Chambers (Newport Classic).
*Stardate (Dane Records).
*ARC (Dane Records).
*Four Compositions with Walter Thompson and Anthony Braxton (Dane Records).
*Lost While Found, SeFa LoCo + Thompson (Kreating SounD)https://sefaloco.bandcamp.com/album/lost-while-found
Selected publications
*Soundpainting Workbook 1 – The Art of Live Composing for Musicians (Level 1).
*Soundpainting Workbook 2 - The Art of Live Composing for Musicians (Level 2).
*Soundpainting Workbook 3 – The Art of Live Composing for Actors and Dancers (Levels 1 and 2).
*Colors for Chorus – Boosey and Hawkes.
*Introduction to Soundpainting – Eufonia Núm.047 (en Espagnol).
References
External links
Soundpainting websiteThe Walter Thompson OrchestraInterview/Walter Thompson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Walter
20th-century composers
1952 births
Living people
People from West Palm Beach, Florida
Berklee College of Music alumni