Matthew Thompson

Matthew Thompson is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD). He holds affiliations with the Center for Japanese Studies, Nam Center for Korean Studies, and other academic units. His work bridges music pedagogy, vocal coaching, and interdisciplinary studies in video game music. Thompson earned a DMA from the University of Michigan, focusing on collaborative piano under Martin Katz, and an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Research interests include ludomusicology, Japanese and Korean classical music, and video game audio. He pioneered the Video Game Music course, which has influenced over 1,000 students, and co-authored a 2021 chapter in Teaching the Game. His performances span operatic collaborations (e.g., with Thomas Hampson, La Scala) and experimental piano transcriptions of video game scores. He leads the Carolyn Mawby Chorale and is a vocal coach for SMTD’s opera workshops.

Thompson’s grants include a U-M Multidisciplinary FEAST research initiative studying Korean Art Song (gagok). He chairs academic tracks at industry conferences like GameSoundCon and maintains a blog (videogamemusicnerd.blogspot.com), while authoring book reviews for the American Journal of Play. He is also the namesake of the annual Thompson Prize, supporting multidisciplinary student projects.