Curt Thompson is Founder and Executive Director of the Mimir Chamber Music Festival, held annually at TCU where he serves as Associate Professor of Violin and Director of Chamber Music studies. A native of Arkansas, Mr. Thompson has performed recitals throughout Europe, Central America, and South America including performances at Salle Gaveau (Paris), the Bulgarian State Academy of Music (Sofia), and the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (San José). In March 2005 he performed with TCU colleagues Messrs. Feghali and Castro-Balbi at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, featuring the world premiere of Search for Piano Trio by composer Samuel Zyman. Thompson has been a featured artist in the Copland/Shostakovich Festival in Rio de Janeiro, the Festival de Primavera in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the Seventh Centennial Festival of Villarobledo, Spain. His debut recording on the Naxos label of the violin sonatas by Charles Ives has received outstanding reviews worldwide, including Gramophone, The Strad, The Wire, and the New York Times, where it was called “…a hole in one…perfectly demonstrating [Ives’] spicy, earthy rawness and appeal….” Performances for north Texas audiences have been included in the ‘Top 10’ musical events of the year in both the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. As a concerto soloist, Mr. Thompson has appeared with several orchestras including the Corpus Christi Philharmonic, the San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, the Texas Chamber Orchestra, and the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra (Colombia).

In addition to his duties at TCU, he has given master classes at several institutions including the Bulgarian State Academy of Music (Sofia), El Escorial Conservatory (Spain), University of Saõ Paulo (Brazil), and the Royal Academy of Music (London). He has served as Concertmaster of the Fort Worth Symphony (by special invitation), the Spoleto Festival Orchestra (Italy), the San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, and the Texas Chamber Orchestra. During the Spring 2002 semester, he maintained a violin studio as Guest Artist/Lecturer at his alma mater, Indiana University, where years earlier he received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees and was awarded a Performer’s Certificate while studying with Nelli Shkolnikova. The following year Thompson completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Rice University where he studied with Sergiu Luca.