Biography
Callum Thompson is a versatile and dynamic musical director, pianist and vocal tutor based in Birmingham. Born and raised in Essex, he studied at the University of Birmingham, gaining BMus and Masters degrees in Music. He is now a senior lecturer at Performers College Birmingham and SOTE Foundation College, coaching 1-to-1 singing, ensemble singing, and working as an MD and collaborative pianist for auditions, productions and industry masterclasses.
Callum is a longtime collaborator of the Old Joint Stock Theatre. He musically directed their UK premiere of The Mad Ones by Kerrigan & Lowdermilk, with director Emily Susanne Lloyd. Together, they transferred the show to The Other Palace Studio in 2025 for a month-long run, receiving 5-star reviews including The Stage, Adventures In Theatreland, Curtain Call Review, and Theatre Fan.
Following The Mad Ones, Callum has served as their MD for First Date, Zanna Don’t, and Be More Chill in 2025, which was nominated for Best Studio Production at the 26th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards.
With artistic director James Edge, Callum is the co-creator of a growing series of acclaimed concerts: I Screamed a Scream; A Little Bawl of Pain; Do You Hear The People Sing(along); and the festival hit Sleigh Misérables. The latter received a clean sweep of 5-star reviews, and returns in 2026 for an in-house run at the OJS alongside dates at the Wales Millennium Centre.
Callum is co-musical director of BMOS Musical Theatre Company, Birmingham’s oldest and most high-profile amateur dramatic group. He led their sell-out run of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and assisted on their special production of Les Misérables: Let The People Sing by arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh Ltd. In 2026, he was MD/Keys 1 for We Will Rock You, with a full onstage rock band at The Alexandra Theatre.
Previously, he worked for several years with Dynamik Theatre. After local productions of 13, American Idiot and Little Shop of Horrors, in 2023 they created their award-winning version of Spring Awakening at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, incorporating a fully-costumed onstage rock band into the set design. Callum played and conducted the show entirely from memory, and multi-roled as the characters of Georg/Dieter.
Callum is in constant demand as an accompanist for auditions, rehearsals and classes, with extremely advanced skills in sight-reading across a range of repertoire including musical theatre, classical and popular musics.
Past productions
