Shirley Thompson (composer)

Early years and education

Shirley Thompson was born in London, UK, of Jamaican parents. Her early musical experience included playing the violin in various youth symphony orchestras in London, and choral singing with local choirs in Newham. She graduated in music from Liverpool University and in composition from Goldsmiths' College after studying with Professor Stanley Glasser.

Career

After university Thompson composed a body of solo and instrumental ensemble works for concert hall as well as working as a freelance composer of music for TV, films and the theatre. She set up the Shirley Thompson Ensemble in 1994 and this became the main vehicle for her instrumental and vocal works that fused contemporary classical orchestrations with popular and world music styles.

Thompson was the first woman to compose and musically direct music for a major drama series at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Having trained as a television programme maker at the BBC and Carlton Television she directed the film Memories in Mind, with an award from the Arts Council, which was broadcast by the BBC in 1998.

Thompson began to focus on full orchestral composition and in 2004 became the first woman in Europe in more than 40 years to have composed and conducted a symphony. New Nation Rising, A 21st Century Symphony was recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate one thousand years of London's history. The piece sees the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra play alongside two choirs, solo singers, a rapper and dhol drummers. Originally commissioned for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002 and the concept is described "a predecessor of the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony".

Alongside Andy Cowton and Carlos Montoya, Thompson co-scored the award-winning ballet PUSH, which premiered in 2005 and has since toured the world in major and prestigious venues, among them: Sadler's Wells, the London Coliseum, New York City Center and the Sydney Opera House. Theater Heilbronn, Germany; Athens Arena, Greece; Opera de Lyon, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, France; Teatro Comunale Modena; Teatro degli Arcimboldi (Milan); Teatro di San Carlo (Naples) Italy; Teatro Real (Madrid), Spain; and Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia.

In 2007 Thompson was commissioned to compose music for the opening of the Parliamentary exhibition The British Slave Trade: Abolition, Parliament and People, which marked the 250-year anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic trade in enslaved African people. The Woman Who Refused to Dance, performed at the launch, is arranged for soprano, spoken-word artist and orchestra. Spirit of the Middle Passage for three solo singers, spoken-word artist and chamber orchestra was performed by The Philharmonia Orchestra in the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the Freedom & Culture International Creative Forum. The work featured three heroines: Nanny of the Maroons, Dido Elizabeth Belle, and The Woman Who Refused To Dance (on a ship with enslaved Africans).

In 2009 Thompson was commissioned by Southbank Centre to compose a piece to commemorate 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency. Voice of Change for chamber orchestra, solo voices, speaker and video was performed in April 2009 at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, with performers including principals of the BBC Concert Orchestra and soloists.

In 2010 Shirley Thompson was announced in the Evening Standard's "Power List of Britain's 100 Most Influential Black People 2010". She took a position of Reader in Music at the University of Westminster.

On 9 February 2013, extracts from her work Mandela Tales, inspired by the book Nelson Mandela's Favourite African Folk Tales, were included in the programme performed by the Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Choir from Gordonstoun School at the amphitheatre at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.

In 2015, her opera Sacred Mountain: Incidents in the Life of Queen Nanny of the Maroons was chosen to open London's Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival.

In April 2016 she was honoured with the Luminary Award (presented to people of Caribbean heritage who have made significant, outstanding contributions on an international scale or have brought to prominence issues that affect the Caribbean region, with previous recipients including Bob Marley, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Cliff, Louise Bennett and Derek Walcott) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Benefit Gala in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Honours and awards

Thompson has received awards from the following organisations:

Works

Thompson has composed for opera, orchestra, contemporary dance, TV and film. Selected works include:

Her works have been recorded and issued on CD and DVD including: