Recordings

Rising
(Jasmine Barnes, Margaret Bonds, Jeremiah Evans, Shawn E. Okpebholo, Robert Owens, Brandon J Spencer and Damien Sneed)
2023
About
Born in 1988, Joel Thompson has broken ground as a composer, through his work in the operatic and choral repertoire. In 2021, his opera The Snowy Day, based on Ezra Jack Keats award winning children’s book was commissioned by Houston Grand Opera. It has since been produced at Portland Opera and Minnesota Opera. The following year, Thompson became Houston Grand Opera’s first composer-in-residence in the history of the organization.
The composer is perhaps best known for his choral work, Seven Last Words, which was premiered by the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club in 2015 at the University of Michigan Museum of Art conducted by Dr. Eugene Rogers. In 2017, a documentary was released detailing the performance, with Thompson and Rogers receiving Emmy Awards for their work.
Thompson’s works continue to be performed by ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and EXIGENCE. He has also joined the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater New Works commissioning program.
-Lucy Koukoudian
This profile was created during the 2023-2024 academic year as part of the Song of America Fellowship Program, a project of the Classic Song Research Initiative between the Hampsong Foundation and the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.