Christopher Preston Thompson

Christopher Preston Thompson

Tenor · Medieval Harpist · Musicologist

Bringing the timeless art of early music to life through historically informed performance and rigorous scholarship

About

Christopher Preston Thompson

Joshua South Photography

Christopher Preston Thompson is a New York City based tenor, historical harpist, and musicologist focused on early and new music. Praised for his “mystical harp and a beautiful voice” (The Epoch Times) and described by Opera News as a “versatile, funny, game and attractive…obviously well-trained singer,” he has performed as a soloist in venues throughout the United States, including Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall. In 2019, Christopher was honored to perform a solo concert for the Medieval Academy of America’s national conference. He is the founding Artistic Director of Concordian Dawn, ensemble for medieval music, which was featured in Chamber Music America’s Spring 2022 publication. The ensemble’s “mesmerizing” (Early Music America) debut album, Fortuna Antiqua et Ultra, was released under his direction in December of 2021 to critical acclaim. In July of 2022, Cornell University Press published a collaborative book-recording project between Christopher, the ensemble, and medieval studies scholar Sarah Kay, entitled Medieval Song from Aristotle to Opera. Christopher has also recently teamed with long-time friend and colleague Hayk Arsenyan to form the chamber music group Ensemble Rhétorique Musicale. He is a regular member of Grammy-nominated ensemble for Renaissance polyphony, Pomerium. Christopher is a candidate for PhD in Performance Informed Musicology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and was a 2018 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar. He is on the voice faculty at New York University’s Steinhardt School, Lehman College-CUNY, and BMCC-CUNY. Performer Tenor & Medieval Harpist Artistic Director Concordian Dawn

Performer

Tenor & Medieval Harpist

Artistic Director

Concordian Dawn

Scholar

PhD Candidate in Performance Informed Musicology

Educator

NYU Steinhardt Faculty

Press

“…palpably enchanting… unforgettable”
Fanfare Magazine
“…with harp in hand, delivered 14 stanzas in Medieval German with great outward passion, the words themselves made biting, piercing”
Boston Musical Intelligencer
“Thompson’s liquid and transparent voice is perfect… Thompson’s diction is as clear as a bell”
Classical Voice North Carolina
“…versatile, funny, game and attractive…obviously well-trained singer”
Opera News
“…mystical harp and a beautiful voice”
The Epoch Times
“…amazing vocal and rhythmic command that helped create some of the most other-worldly and percussive effects…remarkable”
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Discography

Veni Redemptor Gentium

Veni Redemptor Gentium

Concordian Dawn

Avie Records 2025

Medieval Song from Aristotle to Opera

MSR Classics 2023
Fortuna Antiqua et ultra

Fortuna Antiqua et ultra

Concordian Dawn

MSR Classics 2021

Ensembles

Concordian Dawn

Founding Artistic Director, Tenor and Harp

Concordian Dawn, ensemble for medieval music, specializes in 12th- through 14th-century vocal repertoire. Featured in Chamber Music America, recipient of a 2020 Ensemble Forward Award, and 2023-24 artist-in-residence at UC-Davis.

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Pomerium

Regular Member

Grammy-nominated ensemble specializing in Renaissance polyphony. Christopher has recorded with the ensemble including “Musical Games, Riddles, and Puzzles of the Renaissance” (Old Hall Recordings, 2019).

Upcoming Events

May
16
2026

A Path to Transcendence

Medieval Iberian Music from the Field of Stars

St. Ignatius of Antioch Church , 522 West End Avenue, NYC

7:30 PM

Media

Contact

c.preston.thompson@gmail.com

Affiliations