Teacher Appreciation Week: Dr. Thompson

Dr. James Thompson has been teaching at City High for 10 years now. During this time, he has inspired students through music. “I just feel like this is a chance and opportunity for me to really demonstrate my love of, in my case, choral music,” said Thompson.

You might not know that Dr.Thompson also worked with college students for three years. But his path wasn’t always that clear. “I didn’t know going out of high school that I wanted to be a part of music, but I was listening to too many outside influences,” Thompson said. “I quit music in college for one year–like, cold turkey, just didn’t do anything. It was like a major part of me was gone.”

He went on to talk about where his passion for music came from.

“My father’s mother…passed away in December. She got me started on piano when I was young, pretty young, maybe fourth or third grade,” Thompson said. “She recognized that I was interested in music. She was just a fabulous piano player, just really, really good. But as she got older, it was harder and harder for her to play.”

He also wanted students to know that “singing in a choir is an experience, that if you allow it, it will absolutely change your life. Being a part of a community of music makers that when everybody is committed to the same goals and the same task and they’re focused and engaged in what’s happening. And the result is beautiful art.”