About the author
H.Q. Thompson is a two-time Emmy Award winner composer, a director, a master keyboardist, a producer, songwriter, educator, author, playwright, international performer and an attorney. H.Q. Thompson received his doctor of laws degree from Boston University School of Law and his Bachelor of Science degree in education from the University of Virginia.
H.Q. Thompson received his first Emmy Award for his musical score composed for the made-for–television dance special, “Orpheus”. He received his second Emmy Award for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television special, “Ellington Live,” featuring Thompson's musical score for the play “Langston”, based on the poetry of Langston Hughes. His talents were also recognized as a nominee for an Emmy for his musical score for the animated NBC-TV Special, “Harriet and the Promised Land.”
H.Q. Thompson has worked extensively with the legendary star of the American stage, television and film, Ruby Dee, and he composed and produced the musical score for “The Disappearance.” Ruby Dee called it a new form of theater because it consisted of actors creating scenes from a storybook while a female and male narrator read the character’s inner thoughts. In an autobiography of the star couple, “With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together,” Dee described Thompson’s role in the creative process. “I met the composer HQ Thompson at Brown (University) and we began to collaborate,” Dee said “I gave each of the principal characters a color, and HQ developed a theme for them. His music helped to evoke two of the locations featured in the story - Harlem and Brooklyn, as well as interior settings.
“About seven months after my residency at Brown University, Ricardo Khan (the theater founder) invited me to bring the performance to Crossroads Theater as part of the Genesis Festival, where I continued working with the book itself and HQ continued to develop the music. HQ’s score hit a new high.
“Through the music, we knew when we were in Brooklyn and when we were in Harlem; we saw the prison and heard the subway and all the city noises, as well as the emotional tones of the characters inner lives.”
Thompson’s talents as a conductor and master keyboardist are known throughout Europe via his jazz performances, and in Africa, where he participated in the Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in Lagos, Nigeria.
H.Q. Thompson has since collaborated and produced with leading musicians from Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the Bahamas, H.Q.directed the music for that nation's first Independence Television Special, “Guard Our Heritage”.
While a resident of Boston, Thompson was recognized for his work with the Judge Baker Children’s Center Project, "Express Yourself!" - Expressions of strength and pride from the children of Boston. The project offered children the opportunity to feel better about themselves and to better understand their urban life experiences. Thompson, the creative arts director for the project, produced the music for an album, “Express Yourself!”
The young people provided direct input for the album at every stage. Their self-esteem improved after their ideas and creative input were used. Thompson has also been the music director for the Haley Farm-Marian Wright Edelman Children’s Defense Fund Retreat.
H.Q. Thompson's latest creations are receiving national and international acclaim by many artists and musicians. AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME dvd and cd created by award winner, HQ THOMPSON, features HEROES, a pre-eminent musical collaboration of some of the world’s greatest musical and artistic talent. AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME is a beautiful love song that is also a unique salute to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and their families.
FAITH IN ACTION, a cd of treasured gospel music, by H.Q. Thompson and JMH Productions has just been released to high praise. AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME dvd and cd double pack will be available very soon!
The Untold Story of Anthony Burns is based on a true person, an unsung American hero who helped to awaken the conscience of a nation. His true life story, his escape, capture and subsequent trial invigorated the abolitionist movement and spearheaded the end of slavery in America. The research and creation of this screenplay and score about this American hero represents a decade long commitment by H.Q. Thompson to research and create this poignant and uplifting story and musical score.
What type of charisma did this young preacher, Anthony Burns, possess to have more than fifty thousand people gathered along the streets of Boston, Massachusetts, the cradle of liberty in America in 1854, in protest of his being returned to his slave owner in the south? Anthony Burns was a true American hero, a man of great courage and a man after God's own heart. He is just one example of the countless real life heroes who overcame American slavery to help our country grow in wisdom, wealth and truth. In the face of bigotry and in the face of the evils of the peculiar institution of slavery in America every attempt was made to hide and erase the great and unbelievable feats, accomplishments and sacrifices of so many slaves as well as the accomplishments of thousands of African-Americans who since slavery have continued to contribute so dearly to America and her success. Each and every one of these men and women, sung and unsung, are truly heroes to us all. It is with great honor and pleasure that H.Q. Thompson and JMH Productions proudly present "The Untold Story of Anthony Burns". May it inspire you with courage, compassion and the commitment to make our world a better place for every man, woman, boy and girl.