Curt Thompson

Violinist Curt Thompson serves as Associate Professor and Head of Strings at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, a role he assumed in 2012. Holding a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University, as well as a Doctor of Musical Arts from Rice University—where he studied with renowned pedagogues Nelli Shkolnikova and Sergiu Luca—Thompson brings extensive academic credentials to his position. Prior to his appointment at Melbourne, he held teaching positions at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Texas Christian University School of Music for fifteen years. He is also a founding member of the Ormond Quartet, in residency at the Conservatorium since 2016, and the founder and executive director of the Mimir Chamber Music Festival, celebrating its 19th season in Fort Worth, Texas, and fourth in Melbourne. Thompson is a member of the Firebird Trio and the Pettman Ensemble.

Renowned for his international performances as concerto soloist, recitalist, concertmaster, and chamber musician across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia, Thompson has graced stages at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, and Shanghai Concert Hall. Key concerto appearances include those with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra (China), Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra (Colombia), and several Texas symphonies. As concertmaster, he has led the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra (Italy), and others. His critically acclaimed debut recording of Charles Ives’s complete violin sonatas (Naxos, 2003) was hailed by The New York Times as a “hole in one” and selected by Gramophone in 2016 as one of the top 10 Ives recordings. In scholarship, he co-edited Double Stopping: How Migration Shaped the Careers of Australia’s Celebrity Violinists (Bloomsbury, 2026) with Suzanne Robinson. An esteemed educator and adjudicator, Thompson conducts masterclasses at institutions like The Juilliard School, Royal Academy of Music (London), and Beijing Central Conservatory of Music. He serves as juror for competitions such as the Pancho Vladigerov International Violin Competition (Bulgaria), National Concerto Competition of New Zealand, and Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship for Violinists—Australia’s richest violin award, which he convenes—and is a member of the Artistic Committee of Chamber Music Australia.

Professional Email: w.thompson@unimelb.edu.au