“The musicians of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the life of Andrew ‘Drew’ Thompson in a highly appropriate manner: With a scholarship fund,” writes Sarah Bryan Miller in Tuesday’s (11/26) St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri). “Thompson, the SLSO’s gifted young contrabassoonist, died suddenly on Oct. 15 at the age of 27. In his memory, the players have established the Drew Thompson Tribute Fund for the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra…. Thompson, who grew up in Webster Groves, was himself an alumnus of the SLSYO. He was raised in a musical family (his mother is a high school band director, while his four siblings are all involved in music); he joined the SLSYO in high school, and spent three of his four years there as principal bassoon. Performing as a member of the SLSO was his lifelong dream, which he achieved at the young age of 26 in 2012…. Contributions to the Drew Thompson Tribute Fund will go for the support of the Youth Orchestra, which has drawn the region’s best student musicians, aged 12 to 22, for the past 44 years. It’s been a springboard for student musicians to make careers in the orchestral field.”
Posted December 3, 2013
