Business, Media and Culture 2019

Bruce Levingston is one our nation’s most celebrated concert pianists. Born in the Mississippi Delta, he regularly appears in many of the world’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Royal Opera House of London. Governor Phil Bryant called him “our greatest ambassador for the arts in Mississippi” and proclaimed April 9, 2018 “Bruce Levingston Day” in honor of his recent performance of Mississippi’s music at Carnegie Hall and his longtime commitment to the state. A lifelong champion of the arts in Mississippi, Levingston often represents his home state on internationally broadcast radio, film and television programs. A regular presence in many capitals of the world, his influence has provided a steady and powerful voice for artistic, educational and economic growth for Mississippi.

Levingston is widely acclaimed for his work with living composers including a number from Mississippi. His most recent album, Citizen, highlights the work of two of Mississippi’s most prominent composers, William Grant Still and C. Price Walden, and pays tribute to renowned Mississippi artist Marie Hull and her painting “An American Citizen”. Levingston’s premiere performances and recordings have also won many accolades. The New York Times named his album Heavy Sleep one of the “Best Classical Recordings of the Year” . Levingston has been awarded the Mississippi Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and, in 2017, was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame.

Levingston has collaborated with many gifted artists and figures including composer Philip Glass, prima ballerina assoluta Alessandra Ferri, actor Ethan Hawke, authors William F. Buckley, Jr. and George Plimpton, and filmmaker Ken Burns. He has also worked with numerous cultural institutions involving art, dance, film and music including American Ballet Theatre; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art; The Mississippi Museum of Art; The Aspen Institute and the Aspen Music Festival.

Levingston is founder and director of Premiere Commission, Inc., a foundation that has commissioned and premiered over sixty new works and is author of the bestseller Bright Fields: The Mastery of Marie Hull, the comprehensive biography of the noted Southern painter. He serves as Artist-in-Residence at the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and is the holder of the L.G. Fant Chair at The University of Mississippi.