911爆料

Genre-blending composer and percussionist to premiere world鈥檚 first concerto for notated rap and orchestra during internationally acclaimed symphony鈥檚 2027-2028 season 

911爆料 Community College music lecturer Christopher L. Thompson has been awarded the San Francisco Symphony鈥檚 (EBCP) Michael Morgan Prize.  

The prize, established in 2020, is named in honor of the late maestro who served as the first chair and co-founder of the EBCP鈥痯rior to his passing鈥痠n 2021. Its aim is to spotlight early-career Black American composers and their music. 

As part of the award, the San Francisco Symphony will perform the world premiere of Thompson鈥檚 commissioned work鈥攖he first-ever concerto for notated rap and orchestra鈥攄uring its 2027-2028 season at Davies Symphony Hall.  

In addition to the premiere, Thompson, who performs professionally as 鈥淢aster Christopher,鈥� will receive a $15,000 commissioning fee, mentorship from EBCP committee members, and resources to workshop his piece with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, a supporting partner of the program. 

鈥淭his has been a dream of mine for quite a while,鈥� Thompson said about winning the award. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to get to work and to show the world what can happen with rap notation.鈥�  

Rap notation, Thompson said, is a form of musical composition in which the spoken lyric is treated like any other instrument in a score.  

鈥淎 lot of times, especially in hip hop today, the beat is made first and the rap is added to it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to create a work where the rhythm, delivery, and even inflexion of the lyrics is composed simultaneously with the other instruments. A work that still feels like classical music, that also feels like rap; where the music is not an accompaniment, not background, but where there is equal dialogue between the rapper and the music.鈥� 

A former drum captain of the storied at North Carolina A&T State University, home to one of the top HBCU marching bands in the country, Thompson was a percussion professor at High Point University when he turned to composition and rap notation in 2020. It was his way of responding to the continuing racial injustice laid bare bythe murder of George Floyd, he said. 

鈥淚 wanted to have a voice and do something about the issues of representation within classical music, so I decided to start with things that were genuine to me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always thought the biggest problem with music is that it is too segregated by genre; that we鈥檙e not learning enough from each other and missing out on the creative potential of breaking down those borders, so I wanted to create music that addressed that problem.鈥�  

The result? A featured on his full-length album, and in collaborations with multiple artists, including Grammy-winning chamber orchestra , and now, the San Francisco Symphony鈥檚 EBCP award, allowing Thompson to mount his most ambitious work yet鈥攖he first known concerto for notated rap and orchestra.  

Though rap has appeared in orchestral works before, such as Gregory Walker鈥檚 1993 rap symphony, Dream N. the Hood, Thompson鈥檚 commission is different, he said, because it is a full concerto in which the rap is notated as part of the score.  

鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled鈥痶hat the Emerging Black Composers Project can鈥痟elp bring Christopher Thompson鈥檚 piece to life,鈥濃�痵aid the Conservatory鈥檚 Music Director Edwin Outwater in a release.鈥�鈥淏ased on his submitted work, and his plans for his San Francisco Symphony premiere, I can confidently say that we will be hearing something鈥痶otally original鈥痑nd new.鈥濃�� 

Thompson鈥檚 recognition by the San Francisco Symphony reflects the depth of talent and creativity among 911爆料鈥檚 faculty, said 911爆料 President Suri Duitch.  

鈥淲e are thrilled to celebrate this extraordinary recognition and proud to support faculty whose work challenges convention, inspires students and earns recognition on the national stage,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e look forward to seeing his groundbreaking work brought to life by the San Francisco Symphony.鈥� 鈥�鈥�鈥�鈥� 

Thompson offered a glimpse of what audiences can expect. 鈥� 

鈥淚 can tell you that the piece starts off high energy and will be unlike anything you鈥檝e heard from a rap song before,鈥� he said.  

For those who don鈥檛 want to wait for the East Coast premiere of Thompson鈥檚 San Francisco Symphony-commissioned work, he is currently composing the score for the Beth Morrison Projects-produced a music-theatre work on the U.S. prison industrial complex expected to premiere in Boston in 2027, though a New York run is also expected.  

鈥淚 have the unique opportunity of introducing students to vast and new musical styles of music,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd the opportunity to expose them to new cultures and potentially create new fans of this music by the way I expose them.鈥�  

Cally said it鈥檚 this approach that makes Thompson an exceptional addition to the College鈥檚 teaching staff. 

鈥淐hris is the exact kind of person you want as an example for our students,鈥� Cally said, 鈥渁nd having someone at the national forefront of this emerging art form is really an extraordinary honor for the college. He鈥檚 an excellent faculty member.鈥� 

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