About

Bethany Thompson relishes using music to connect with people, whether through performing or teaching. She earned a doctorate in cello performance from the University of North Carolina Greensboro while conducting research on the benefits of music for youth in detention. She currently directs string programs in the Florida Juvenile Justice system. Before teaching in the Florida Juvenile Justice system, Bethany founded and directed Chatham Strings, a string program in a youth detention facility, teaching violin and cello to teens in custody and performing with them at universities and juvenile justice events across North Carolina. Her research has been published in the String Research Journal. Currently, she also directs string program with foster-involved children in a residential community. In addition to traditional venues such as orchestral (Lakeland Symphony, Greensboro Symphony, NC Chamber Orchestra, Greensboro Opera) and chamber work (SHU Strings piano trio, DiPiazza-Uhler duo, TAW piano trio, KLIEO clarinet trio, Sitkovetsky and Friends Chamber Music Series), she has been a regular performer in a pediatric ward and performed in juvenile and adult prisons. And as a soloist, Bethany plays regular solo cello programs for retirement communities, with repertoire including classical, fiddle, popular, Irish, and Broadway music with the stories of the music woven throughout the program. She has performed over 350 of these engaging and interactive programs in four states. Bethany also spent four years in the Philippines, where she taught cello, double bass, and music theory at a college in Manila, and also taught and recorded in Hong Kong and Australia. Please click below to see her Curriculum Vitae.