What do I say to the Winds? How do I take my knowledge of string pedagogy and translate it for my wind players in full orchestra? How do I feel more comfortable in front of the full orchestra? Thompson, a trumpet player for over 40 years and a string educator for over 25, will answer these questions and more! Topics will include musical terminology, repertoire selection, rehearsal techniques and more.
Joshua Thompson
- Biographical Information
Joshua Thompson has been the Orchestra Director at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas, since 2017. The Westwood Symphony Orchestra--one of the finest secondary school orchestras in the nation--features 220 students in six performing ensembles. The Symphony Orchestra performed at the Midwest Clinic in 2019, was the TMEA Honor Full Orchestra in 2024, and was featured on From the Top in 2024. Previously, Joshua was the Orchestra Director at Shepton High School, in Plano, Texas, where the orchestra was one of three National Winners in the Mark of Excellence/National Orchestra Honors Competition, despite being a campus of only 9th and 10th graders. He has also taught in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. Joshua holds a Master of Music degree in Music Performance in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Kentucky, where he served as a graduate teaching assistant, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University. He has attended conducting workshops around the world, including the International Conducting Workshop and Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria, working with Larry Rachleff and Donald Schleicher, and has also studied conducting with Gary Lewis, Clif Evans, and Jeffrey Grogan. Originally from Ohio, Joshua first took up trumpet studies with his grandfather, and is an active freelance trumpeter, in high demand as a performer, adjudicator, and clinician. His guest conducting engagements have included concerts from Texas to Japan and points in between.