Bruce Levingston
Chancellor's Honors College Artist-In-Residence and Holder of the Lester Glenn Fant Chair
Biography
Bruce Levingston is an internationally renowned concert pianist and recording artist. He has appeared in many of the world’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and his performances and recordings have been highly acclaimed. The New York Times has praised his “mastery of color and nuance” and The New Yorker has called him “a force for new music.”
Levingston is one of the most frequently streamed classical artists in the world with over 25 million streams on Apple Music and Spotify. Levingston’s album Heavy Sleep was named one of the “Best Classical Recordings of the Year” by The New York Times which called the recording “exquisite.” The American Record Guide has noted: “Levingston is a pianist’s pianist” and “captures our attention without artifice or willfulness.” Following Levingston’s release of his album Prelude to Dawn, All About The Arts critic Rafael de Acha wrote : “Bruce Levingston’s magisterial playing of this music reaffirms his position as one of America’s great pianists.”
Levingston is the author of Bright Fields: The Mastery of Marie Hull, a best-selling biography and survey of the work of the distinguished Mississippi artist. In 2006, Levingston was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts; in 2017, he was elected to the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame; and in 2018, the Governor of Mississippi named April 9th Bruce Levingston Day in honor of Levingston’s achievements in the arts and longtime support of education in the state. Levingston is the Chancellor’s Honors College Artist in Residence and holder of the Lester Glenn Fant Chair at the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College of the University of Mississippi. In 2024, benefactors of the University of Mississippi established the Bruce M. Levingston Honors College Endowment in honor of his work at the SMBHC.
Education
B.A. Humanities, University of Texas at Austin (1983)
M.A. Music Performance, Cuny Queens College (1986)