Marcus Thompson has appeared as viola soloist with many of this country’s leading symphony orchestras, recital series and chamber festivals. This season he completed his twelfth season as Artistic Director of the Boston Chamber Music Society.

Performance highlights of Mr. Thompson’s career include Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Yehudi Menuhin and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the premiere of Olly Wilson’s Viola Concerto with the Rochester Philharmonic, and the west coast premiere of John Harbison’s Viola Concerto with the LA Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer. He has appeared as a guest in a Live from Lincoln Center broadcast of Tchaikovky’s Souvenir de Florence with its Chamber Music Society led by Itzhak Perlman. .

His most recent recordings include Elena Ruehr’s Shadow Light with the New Orchestra of Washington, and John Harbison’s Viola Concerto with BMOP. He gave the Boston Premiere of John Harbison’s Sonata for Viola and Piano with pianist, Judith Gordon in the Boston Chamber Music Society series, and performed solo recitals on the String Masters Series at Boston Conservatory of Music and at the University of Maryland at College Park. Last season he appeared in the BCMS@Home Series of on-line concerts and in a Gala concert to mark the 60^th Anniversary of Young Concert Artists, Inc. in New York City.

Thompson holds the first doctorate in viola performance from The Juilliard School. He has been a member of the viola faculty at New England Conservatory of Music for more than three decades, and professor of music at MIT for more than four. In June 2015 he was appointed to MIT’s highest faculty honor, becoming one of thirteen Institute Professors.