Biography

Shirley Thompson was born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, of Jamaican parents. She graduated in music from Liverpool University and in composition from Goldsmith's College after studying with Professor Stanley Glasser

Stanley Glasser

Stanley Glasser , is a South African-born composer and academic who studied with Matyas Seiber at Cambridge. His concert music is deeply influenced by his ethnomusicological investigations of native African music...

. After university she 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 began to
focus on full orchestral composition and in 2004 became the first woman in Europe in over forty years to have composed and conducted a symphony. New Nation Rising, A 21st Century Symphony was recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...

 to celebrate one-thousand years of London's history. The piece sees the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...

 play alongside two choirs, solo singers, a rapper and dhol drummers.

Thompson co-scored the award winning ballet PUSH, alongside Andy Cowton and Carlos Montoya

Carlos Montoya

Carlos Montoya was a prominent Flamenco guitarist and a founder of the modern-day popular Flamenco style of music.His unique style and successful career, despite all odds, have left a great legacy for modern day Flamenco...

 which premiered in 2005, and has since toured the world in major venues such as Sadler's Wells, the London Coliseum, City Centre, New York and the Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...

.

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

Abolition

Abolish means to put an end to something or to stop something.Abolition may refer to:*Abolitionism *Abolition of death penalty *Abolition of monarchy*Prison abolition movement...

 of the transatlantic trade in enslaved African people. The Woman Who Refused to Dance, performed at the launch, is arranged for soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

, spoken word

Spoken word

Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....

 artist and orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

. Spirit of the Middle Passage for three solo singers, spoken word

Spoken word

Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....

 artist & chamber orchestra  was performed by The Philharmonia Orchestra

Philharmonia Orchestra

The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...

 in the Queen Elizabeth Hall

Queen Elizabeth Hall

The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...

 as part of the Freedom & Culture International Creative Forum. The work featured three heroines including Nanny of the Maroons.

In 2009 Thompson was commissioned by Southbank Centre to compose a piece to commemorate 100 days of Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

’s presidency. Voice of Change for chamber orchestra, solo voices, speaker and video was performed in April 2009 at the Purcell Room

Purcell Room

The Purcell Room is a concert and performance venue which forms part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London's leading cultural complexes. It is named after the 17th century English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats....

, Southbank Centre, with performers including principals of the BBC Concert Orchestra

BBC Concert Orchestra

The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....

 and soloists.

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

Arts council

An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...

  which was broadcast by the BBC in 1998.

In 2010 Shirley Thompson was announced in the Evening Standard

Evening Standard

The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...

’s Power List of Britain’s 100 Most Influential Black People 2010. Shirley Thompson is Reader in Music at the University of Westminster.

Honors and awards

Thompson has received awards from the following organizations:

• Arts Council of England
• Southbank Centre
• Newham Council, Department of Culture
• University of Westminster
• Top TV Music Theme (1990) for South of the Border
• Mannheim Film festival prize (1990) for Dreaming Rivers
• Prized Pieces, for Memories in Mind (1992)
• Woman of the Year in the Arts nomination (1997)

Works

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

• New Nation Rising, A 21st Century Symphony (2004)- symphony for orchestra, choir, solo singers, rapper and dhol drummers
• Push - contemporary ballet (co-scored)
• The Woman Who Refused to Dance - for solo singer, speaker and orchestra
• Spirit of the Middle Passage - for solo singers, speaker and orchestra
• Viola Concerto, Oslo Odyssey - for orchestral and electronic instruments and multi-media
• 100 days of Barack Obama - for solo voice, instrumental ensemble and video projection
• The Lodger - theatrical music
• A Child of the Jago - opera
• Tapestry Song Cycle - for Soprano and Instrumental Ensemble

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

• New Nation Rising - A 21st Century Symphony
• Newham Symphony Spectacular
• Transition
• Summer Notes
• Anansi Fantasia
• Memories in Mind