Victor Provost

About the Artist

Victor Provost is widely regarded as one of the young masters of the unique and often misunderstood instrument, the steel pan. With appearances at concert halls and stages throughout the world, he has been meticulously developing a reputation as a “dazzling” soloist, crafting an improvisational voice and style to be reckoned with. With a strong foundation in Bebop, a contemporary sensibility, and deep roots in Caribbean music, he works in countless genres and musical styles. The Washington D.C. City Paper’s “Jazz Percussionist of the Year” five years running, his freshmen release “Her Favorite Shade of Yellow” was named one of the top five albums of 2011, and he was named “Jazz Artist of the Year” in 2012. Victor has toured with NEA Jazz Master, Paquito D’Rivera, as a member of his Panamericana Orchestra, is a member of the GRAMMY award-winning Afro Bop Alliance, and works with several of the Mid-Atlantic region’s most lauded musical collectives. Already in his relatively young career, he has performed and recorded with many other Jazz Luminaries including Hugh Masakela, Steve Nelson, Joe Locke, Nicholas Payton, Terrel Stafford, Dave Samuels, Wycliffe Gordon, and with “young lions” like Etienne Charles, Ben Williams, and Ulysses Owens. Besides being an adjunct professor of music at George Mason University, where he founded the Mason Steel Pan Ensemble, Victor has conducted residencies and master classes throughout the United States and the Caribbean at Universities and Schools such as Berklee College of Music in Boston, University of Akron, Miami University, and Northern Illinois University. He is an Art Ambassador to his hometown of the U.S. Virgin Islands, which honored him with a Special Congressional Recognition in 2014, and returns frequently to perform and teach as part of Dion Parson’s community-based arts initiative, the United Jazz Foundation.

Artist's Statement

Steel Pannist, Composer, Recording Artist, Educator