Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson BA (Hons) MA MMus (Cantab) PGCE FRSA enjoys a varied career as a conductor, organist and teacher of music. He combines his roles as Director of Music at St Mary's Church, Chelsea and Head of Choral Music at Wellington College with regular guest appearances alongside choirs and ensembles from across the UK.
Jack's work as a conductor, chorus master and organist continues to bring him into fruitful relationships with singers and instrumentalists of international repute. He has performed extensively at prestigious venues throughout the UK, Continental Europe, North America and the Far East, and, as Founder and Artistic Director of the Cadogan Consort, appeared regularly alongside members of the BBC Singers, Voces 8, Tenebrae and the Sixteen. Known for his exciting, ambitious and well-informed programming, Jack has devised imaginative projects for the London Mozart Players and Oxford Bach Soloists, leading critically acclaimed collaborations with the Sussex Chorus and composer Will Todd. Other notable highlights have included full-scale performances of Brahms’ German Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Creation, together with numerous broadcasts for radio and television (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Classic FM), and three recordings for commercial CD. He has previously given organ recitals at Durham Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral and St John’s College, Cambridge, and appeared twice as a soloist for Queen Elizabeth II.
Today, Jack remains active as a workshop leader and animateur, preparing artists for performances with Sir Thomas Allen, Kazushi Ono, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the OAE. He has premiered new music by David Bednall and Judith Bingham, and, as Artistic Director of the Sussex Chorus, commissioned multiple new works in celebration of the choir's centenary year. At St Mary's Church, Chelsea, Jack has developed the musical provision to include annual concerts at Arundel Cathedral and St George's Cathedral, Southwark, working frequently with instrumentalists from both the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music. He continues to serve as an advisor and staff member with Rhinegold Education and the Rodolfus Foundation, and, having worked previously at Oxford, Cambridge and Durham Universities, is engaged regularly as a private tutor by those applying to universities and conservatoires for choral, instrumental and academic awards.
Jack has studied choral conducting and organ performance with Stephen Layton, Graham Ross, Mark Williams, James Lancelot and Dame Gillian Weir. He completed a postgraduate degree in music at Cambridge University in 2016, and was both Organ Scholar of Corpus Christi College and Organist for St John’s Voices, the mixed-voice choir of St John’s College. Jack was previously educated as an organ scholar and vice-chancellor's scholar at Durham University, where he was also the recipient of the University's Graham and Joanna Barker Award. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, aged 24, in 2018.
