Dr. Merlin B. Thompson (Ph.D., M.A., B.Mus.) is one of Canada’s leading authorities on the Suzuki Piano Method and the first Canadian to graduate from the Matsumoto Talent Education Institute where he studied with Suzuki Piano Method co-founders Drs. Shinichi Suzuki and Haruko Kataoka. He has worked with hundreds of children, their parents, and teachers in workshops, institutes, conferences, established programs, and mentorships throughout Canada, USA, Australia, Japan, Spain, Great Britain, and New Zealand.
In 2017, Dr. Thompson was awarded Article of the Year by the American Music Teacher journal of the MTNA. Additionally, his book Fundamentals of Piano Pedagogy was released Springer Publications in both e-book and print versions. Currently an instructor in music pedagogy at the Schulich School of Music (McGill University) and teacher mentor in the Werklund School of Education (University of Calgary), Dr. Thompson is an active music education scholar whose works have been published in numerous international academic journals including American Music Teacher, American Suzuki Journal, Educational Theory, Journal of School Choice, Philosophy of Music Education Review, and Studies in Philosophy and Education.