Hi, my name is Peter Thompson. I started traditional piano lessons at age nine. Then I added trumpet in the school band at twelve, contemporary piano on a worship team at sixteen, and guitar as I headed off to college. Though I planned to pursue a more reasonable and practical career, once I got to Iowa State University, there was no question I was meant to be a musician.
I immersed myself in studying music theory, history, and every instrument, preparing to be a music educator. Before my junior year, an inner pull toward music ministry coincided with an invitation to play keyboard for Body of Christ Church. That’s where I am today.
Along the way, I married my wife Holly in 2001. We fulfilled a long-held dream to attend Hillsong College in Sydney, Australia, in 2003. There, I studied keyboard with Peter King, interned in the publishing department, played trumpet in four services a weekend with worship leaders like Joel Houston, Reuben Morgan and Darlene Zschech, and even recorded a flugelhorn solo.
We returned to live in Iowa and lead at BCC. As we grew our family with four children, we also served on our church’s leadership teams and recorded some albums. In 2008, I accepted a position as a full-time music educator, directing a really big band of sixth graders. It’s been great, and I’ve learned a ton about teaching music.
I tend to be pretty focused on a small number of things. While music activities and family get most of my attention, my other obsessions are coffee (everything but actually growing it), running, and The Office.
It’s always been my dream to reach out and teach the techniques of worship music beyond our church team. After recording a solo album in 2011, I decided to put a few keyboard videos on YouTube to promote it. The YouTube channel took on a life of its own, now with thousands of subscribers.
In addition to YouTube, I also write the blog here on this site, about worship leadership, expounding on technical items, and communicating my thoughts and heart behind why we do what we do. Here’s a post that captures that last idea pretty well.
My passion and mission have become more clear: to empower musicians, especially worshiping ones, to play and lead from a place of inspiration.
I invite you to join me on the journey: subscribe on YouTube, comment on the blog, download the music, and sign up for email updates. It’s your feedback/questions/aspirations that will make this about our worship sound.
