Marcus Thompson (born 1946) is a violist and viola d'amore player known for his work as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and educator.
Thompson has also worked with some of the world's finest conductors including Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson Thomas, Jahja Ling, Yoel Levi, John Harbison, and Paul Freeman among others.
He has participated in chamber music festivals in Rockport (MA and ME), Chestnut Hill (CT), Sitka (AK), Anchorage, Seattle, Northwest (OR), Los Angeles, Okinawa, Santa Fe, Vail, Dubrovnik, Spoleto, Montreal, and Rio de Janeiro.
Since then, Thompson has dedicated his time to learning the viola d'amore with an attention to Baroque performance practices like inflected bowing, limited vibrato, and the use of harmonics.
[4] Thompson serves as a member of the viola faculty at the New England Conservatory and as the Robert R. Taylor Professor of Music at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mr. Thompson served as host director for the 1985 American Viola Society Congress XIII held at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
[1] Thompson has recorded solo works by Bartók, Bloch, Hindemith, Martin, Jongen, Françaix, and Serly on the Centaur and Vox Turnabout labels.