Christopher L. Thompson Wins the San Francisco Symphony’s Emerging Black Composers Project
The San Francisco Symphony on Tuesday announced that the winner of its sixth annual Emerging Black Composers Project (EBCP): Christopher L. Thompson.
“It is always an amazing feeling to hear that others see and believe in your vision,” said Thompson in a release shared by the Symphony.
The award, made possible by the Symphony and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), comes with a $15,000 grant, mentorship from established composers and the opportunity to debut a commissioned piece at Davies Symphony Hall during the 2027-2028 season.
The EBCP is a competitive program launched in 2020 amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. The classical music repertory is well known to skew toward white male composers.
“[The] project is an attempt to address some of that, and to provide points of access to young people from a community that has often previously been denied access,” Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, chair of the EBCP selection committee and the San Francisco Symphony’s resident conductor of engagement, told KQED in 2022.
Thompson is a contemporary jazz musician and percussionist who blurs the lines between musical genres. By merging traditional symphonic elements with notated raps, he creates a new take on classical music. (His style is prominently shown on his debut album, Music Desegregation, released in July of 2022.)
“I can’t wait to explore the power of rap notation as a compositional force with the San Francisco Symphony in a way that is genuine and authentic, without sacrificing the ensemble’s classical identity and technical prowess,” said Thompson in a release.
Originally from North Carolina and currently based in Philadelphia, Thompson is a music lecturer at Kingsborough Community College in New York and a student at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where he’s currently pursuing a doctoral degree in music composition.
With an undergraduate degree from North Carolina A&T State University and a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Music, Thompson’s résumé also boasts performances at the John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues festival in North Carolina, the Eurovision Song Contest in Germany and other esteemed institutions.
Looking forward to his time with the San Francisco Symphony, and anticipating the relationships to come by working with “a high-class group of musicians,” Thompson said winning this award feels like a dream come true.
“I am truly honored to be selected for the Michael Morgan Prize,” he says of the award, which is named for the late longtime head of the Oakland Symphony. Thompson joins previous award winners Tyler Taylor, Xavier Muzik, Kyle Rivera, Jen Ibsen and Trevor Weston.
“Christopher Thompson was the clear favorite among the jurors this year,” said Bartholomew-Poyser in a release from the Symphony, noting his compelling voice, memorable music and detailed scores.
“Christopher is poised to take the orchestral world in new directions,” Bartholomew-Poyser said.