George Thomson is a conductor, violinist/violist, and teacher living in Salem, Oregon
George Thomson grew up in Sunnyvale,
California, and attended the University of California at Berkeley, where
he received A.B. and M.A. degrees in Music, studying conducting with
Michael Senturia and Philip Brett. Before becoming a teacher, he enjoyed
a career as a freelance musician, performing Early Music on period
instruments with Philharmonia Baroque and American Bach Soloists, and
performing Contemporary Music with the ensemble EARPLAY, among others.
Other posts he held included Principal Violist of the Carmel Bach
Festival, Associate Conductor of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, and
Music Director of the Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra.
He made a transition to teaching
after taking a job in 1999 as Music Director of the Virtuoso Program at
San Domenico School in San Anselmo, a unique opportunity for high school
students to pursue intensive orchestral and chamber music training in
addition to a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. The San Domenico
Orchestra da Camera, under Mr. Thomson’s direction, won the “Grand
Champion” award at the National Orchestra Festival sponsored by the
American String Teachers’ Association on three occasions–in 2005, 2008,
and 2010. The Virtuoso Program was featured in the February 2004 issue
of Strings Magazine, and was featured on the nationally-broadcast radio
program “From the Top” in February of 2006.
George moved to Salem, Oregon in
2010. He taught at McNary High School in Keizer and Crescent Valley High
School in Corvallis; since 2013 he has worked at West Salem High School,
teaching Orchestra, Music Theory, and Music Appreciation. He resides in
Salem with his wife, musician and writer Michelle Dulak Thomson, and Lili the cat.
During the pandemic lockdown phase in
March 2020, he started a YouTube channel to which he contributes every so
often, as time and inclination permit. You can reach George at maestro
{at} georgethomson {dot} com.