Robert Thompson (violinist)
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Robert Thompson (born January 10, 1979) is an American violinist, who performs on a 1849 Elrich violin from Dresden, Germany.
Thompson was born in Oakland, California and currently lives in China. After graduating from Berklee College of Music (BM, Performance, World Tour Scholarship recipient) Robert immediately began touring and recording with The Hot Club of San Francisco. As the solo violinist, he "played with tone and confidence that belied his years" and was described as a "powerful and sensual" addition to the quintet, which performed at crowded jazz venues and DjangoFests in San Francisco and across the United States. During this time he also collaborated with the hip-hop group, Zion-I.
In 2003, he began touring with Cirque du Soleil's highest-grossing touring show, Dralion, in North America and Europe. Along with eight other first-rate musicians, he performed nearly 1,000 shows over the course of three years to sell-out audiences in the 2,500 seat Grand Chapiteau. Robert blazed through a myriad of technical solos throughout the show (most notably with Viktor Kee), and using his acoustic violin and his effects-driven electric violin he improvised in the jazz, rock, Indian, classical, and country-fiddle idioms throughout the show.
Performing professionally for six years, Robert has already toured internationally, winning audiences over with his modern style, filled with intricate jazz language. In addition to the United States, Robert has also performed in Canada, Mexico, China, England (London's Royal Albert Hall), Austria, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Robert studied with David Balakrishnan, Jeremy Cohen, Anne Crowden, Matt Glaser, Darol Anger, and Eugene "The CelloMan" Friesen.
