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Master Christopher
Christopher L. Thompson, also known as “Master Christopher,” is a multi-disciplined composer-performer who creates innovative ways to blur the distinction between genres. Through his project “Music Desegregation”, he merges contemporary art music, jazz, and percussion with notated rap. Currently based in Philadelphia, PA, Chris serves as Lecturer of Music for the City University of New York while also pursuing a DMA degree in Music Composition at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. Chris is a proud alumnus of an HBCU, North Carolina A&T State University, and holds a master’s degree in Percussion Performance and a post-baccalaureate certificate in Jazz Studies from the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Music. Christopher Thompson currently serves on the board of the Alliance of Black Orchestral Percussionists, is a member of the Percussive Arts Society New Music/Research Committee, and is an endorsed artist for Marimba One and Black Swamp Percussion.

Notated Rap: The Future of Merging Hip Hop with Classical Music

Percussion Ensemble
Clinic / PerformanceLive

While rap is a rhythmic and vocal technique that can benefit from notation like any other instrument or voice, notated rap has rarely been explored or implemented, especially as a compositional endeavor. During this presentation, composer and performer Chris Thompson, aka Master Christopher, will demonstrate through his Music Desegregation project how he merges contemporary classical music, percussion, and jazz with notated rap. We will explore scores that engage innovative references to hip-hop and technical lyricism, while remaining genuine to, and not sacrificing, the integrity of contemporary percussion ensemble traditions. This involves merging lyrics with both tonal and atonal harmonies, various time-signatures, complex polyrhythms and syncopations, unique sound textures, and extended techniques. We will discuss why notated rap is not only necessary to bridge the gaps between art forms, but also how the incorporation of hip hop, in an authentic way, can further diversify the representation within classical music.

The session will include the following works:

Critical: for Snare Drum and Spoken Word (2025) by Chris Thompson (b. 1991)
(7 mins)
Chris Thompson, Rap
Ethan Strickland, Snare

Caged Birds the Most Heard (2021) by Chris Thompson (b. 1991)
(2 mins)
Chris Thompson, Rap
Abby Fisher, Vibraphone
Matthew Lau, Vibraphone

Masterplan (2021) by Chris Thompson (b. 1991)
(6 mins)
Chris Thompson, Rap
Xavier Ware, Drumset
Lamon Lawhorn, Ensemble
Caleb Swinney, Ensemble
David Williams, Ensemble
Theo Davis, Ensemble
Stacey David, Ensemble
Donovan Haywood, Ensemble
Shain McDougald Jr., Ensemble