Mr. Brian Thompson - Band/Orchestra Director
Brian Thompson has been the instrumental music director at Westminster Elementary School since 2006. He directs the WES 4th and 5th grade bands and orchestras, and teaches 3rd grade general music classes. At the county level, he serves as the audition coordinator for the Carroll County middle and high school All County ensembles and the coordinator of the district Solo and Ensemble Festival. Mr. Thompson is also an adjunct faculty member at Stevenson University as an instructor with the SU Marching Band, Concert Band, and Pep Band.
Originally from Westminster, Mr. Thompson is a 2000 graduate of Westminster High School. He also holds a BS in Music Education from Towson University and MS in Curriculum and Instruction from McDaniel College. While at Towson, Mr. Thompson performed with the Towson University Symphonic Band, Towson University Symphony Orchestra (principal trombone), and the Towson University Jazz Ensemble.
Mr. Thompson spent many years involved in the marching arts, and has experience in high school marching band and drum and bugle corps as a performer, instructor, and composer/arranger. Mr. Thompson was a member of the instructional staffs for two of the only three high school marching bands from the state of Maryland ever to perform in Bands of America (BOA) regional finals competition, including the Westminster High School Marching Band for their 2010 BOA Towson Regional championship. Under his assistant directorship, The Westminster High School Marching Band represented the state of Maryland in the 2013 Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mr. Thompson spent six years with the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps, three as a hornline member (2004, 2005, 2007) and three on the brass instructional staff (2011-2013), and was part of four DCA World Championships with the corps.
Mr. Thompson is a member of the Maryland Music Educator's Association (MMEA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Mr. Thompson is a nine-time nominee for the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Teacher Award (2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), and was a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award and was one of the eight finalists for Carroll County Teacher Of The Year in 2017. His article, "Music Festival Participation for Elementary Instrumental Ensembles" was published in the Spring 2019 Maryland Music Educator journal and nationally in the January 2020 edition of Teaching Music magazine.
Brian Thompson has been the instrumental music director at Westminster Elementary School since 2006. He directs the WES 4th and 5th grade bands and orchestras, and teaches 3rd grade general music classes. At the county level, he serves as the audition coordinator for the Carroll County middle and high school All County ensembles and the coordinator of the district Solo and Ensemble Festival. Mr. Thompson is also an adjunct faculty member at Stevenson University as an instructor with the SU Marching Band, Concert Band, and Pep Band.
Originally from Westminster, Mr. Thompson is a 2000 graduate of Westminster High School. He also holds a BS in Music Education from Towson University and MS in Curriculum and Instruction from McDaniel College. While at Towson, Mr. Thompson performed with the Towson University Symphonic Band, Towson University Symphony Orchestra (principal trombone), and the Towson University Jazz Ensemble.
Mr. Thompson spent many years involved in the marching arts, and has experience in high school marching band and drum and bugle corps as a performer, instructor, and composer/arranger. Mr. Thompson was a member of the instructional staffs for two of the only three high school marching bands from the state of Maryland ever to perform in Bands of America (BOA) regional finals competition, including the Westminster High School Marching Band for their 2010 BOA Towson Regional championship. Under his assistant directorship, The Westminster High School Marching Band represented the state of Maryland in the 2013 Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mr. Thompson spent six years with the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps, three as a hornline member (2004, 2005, 2007) and three on the brass instructional staff (2011-2013), and was part of four DCA World Championships with the corps.
Mr. Thompson is a member of the Maryland Music Educator's Association (MMEA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Mr. Thompson is a nine-time nominee for the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Teacher Award (2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), and was a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award and was one of the eight finalists for Carroll County Teacher Of The Year in 2017. His article, "Music Festival Participation for Elementary Instrumental Ensembles" was published in the Spring 2019 Maryland Music Educator journal and nationally in the January 2020 edition of Teaching Music magazine.