Who was John Thompson?

[Alfie]

I want to write some programme notes for a student recital of some pieces from John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano, but Mr Thompson has proven surprisingly enigmatic.  I've searched the web, asked at the library, looked him up in the New Grove, emailed Willis Music and asked at my local music store--and all I've been able to find out is that John Sylvanus Thompson was born on March 8, 1889 and died in 1963!

Anyone know anything more or have any suggestions on where to look?

[rapidgaming]

wow, well john thompson were the books which i first started learning piano on my friend, i believe there is 4 in the starters books. with little creatures jumping around it

[Alfie]

Thanks for the reply, but I know about the books--one of the most famous piano methods in world.  Which makes it all the more intriguing that nobody seems to know anything about the man who wrote them??!

[Clare]

Yes, I was also brought up on his books, and I also wondered about the real person behind the bright red covers. Hmm. If anyone does find out about his life, I'd too love to know.

[Alfie]

Some things I've found since posting this...

"[Thompson] was the grand-daddy of the "use classical pieces in a method series" idea."

"Thompson was a famous concert pianist who became the head of several different conservatories of music, during which time he developed his piano course for young students. He believed in teaching basics, interpretation, and expression in the simplest language possible."

"the UMKC Conservatory of Music has enjoyed an exceptional history of astute leadership, including that of Dean John Thompson whose ever-popular graded piano study books have been used by generations of students throughout the world"

"In January, [1937] John Thompson, Director of the Kansas City Conservatory of Music and the famous author of the piano teaching series that bears his name, offers [Wiktor] Labunski a teaching position.

Finally, there is the following reference to a doctoral thesus...

Dibble, Cameron Shawn.
John Sylvanus Thompson: Pianist, Pedagogue, and Composer.
D.M.A., Performance, University of Missouri, 1992. 261 p.
Research director: Ruth Ann Rich
DDM Code: 74eeDibC; DA no.: 53/05:1314; RILM no.: UM no.: 92-24624

But I haven't found out how to get access to it yet.