Nathan Thomson

Nathan Thomson is a bassist, multi-instrumentalist and composer who specializes in acoustic and traditional instruments. He has collaborated and performed with musicians from many parts of the world with a special interest in Africa where he lived and worked with traditional musicians for five years. He established the Amani Ensemble project in Tanzania, which is a unique ensemble made up of traditional musicians and dancers who perform, record and work on community projects in Tanzania. During his time in Tanzania Nathan was also a student of master musician Dr. Hukwe Zawose. Nathan was born in Australia where he studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Further studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama brought him to London where he is now based. Nathan plays Double Bass, Flutes and Kalimba with the acclaimed Antonio Forcione Quartet, which performs all over the world. Recent performances include international festivals in Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, The Philippines, Brunei, Barbados and Edinburgh. He is also in demand as a session player and performs with The World Wind Band, Carver Trio, DouDou Cissoko, Simon Allen and The Ian McMillan Orchestra. Nathan performs and records for Film and Theatre, which has included playing on the soundtrack for ‘Sahara’ starring Penelope Cruz, the National Theatres production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and BBC’s ‘Skin Deep’. Nathan teaches at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and works on community and education projects for many organizations. He has recently been involved in researching trans-cultural arts practice for the Guildhall and has designed several innovative projects for the British Council in Africa and The Philippines, with a focus on collaboration between musicians from different cultures. Nathan is featured on the new Live DVD and CD of the Antonio Forcione Quartet which is out now. Nathan is currently completing his debut solo album featuring special guests, which will be out soon.