Violinist James Thompson is forging a promising career as a versatile chamber musician, soloist, and music educator. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he is currently a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program and is on faculty at Music@Menlo.

In 2014, James made his solo debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall. He was recently invited to perform in Budapest as part of the 1st Bartok World Competition and in Sendai for the 7th Sendai International Violin Competition. He has collaborated in concert with a multitude of established artists including David Finckel, Soovin Kim, Jaime Laredo, Paul Neubauer, Roger Tapping, and a variety of musicians from both the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

James holds Artist Diploma, Masters, and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he has studied with Jaime Laredo, William Preucil, and Paul Kantor.