Lee Martin Thompson

Euphonium

Participated in the 2018 edition

Martin Lee Thomson (he/him) is a euphonium player, trombonist, and composer from northeast Scotland. A BMus Jazz graduate of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, he recently completed a Master's in Jazz/Improvisation at Norges musikkhøgskole (Norwegian Academy of Music). As a freelance musician, Martin has performed with a wide range of ensembles across the UK and Europe. His recording credits include Mercury Prize-nominated jazz artist Laura Jurd’s Stepping Back, Jumping In and Elliot Galvin’s Police, Police.

Martin’s compositions are deeply inspired by his Scottish heritage and the natural world. He was recently selected as a member of OJKOS, a contemporary jazz orchestra representing the next wave of creative voices from Oslo. His latest large ensemble work, Fraileach, premiered in March 2025.

Outside of music, Martin is passionate about film photography. Two of his visual works were recently exhibited at the Nairn Arts Festival’s open exhibition, Every Picture Tells a Story.

Martin is a founding member of several innovative ensembles, including Dopey Monkey (current Chamber Music Scotland Artists-in-Residence), the award-winning trombone quartet Aeris Brass, and Carnyx Brass. He also serves as the Artistic Director of the Dandelion Jazz Orchestra. His achievements have been recognised with numerous awards, including the Fordham University Founder's Scholars Award, the Scottish International Educational Trust Award, the Cross Trust Award, the Anglo-Norse Scholarship, and the Donald Dewar Award, which supports Scotland’s most promising young artists.

His collaborative composition Fresh Fish, written for Dopey Monkey, was a finalist for the 2021 ITEC Jim Self Creative Award and featured in the NMC Big Lockdown Music Survey 2022. Martin proudly endorses Denis Wick Productsand is a Brakul Products Ambassador.