Victor Provost is one of those rare musicians that can transcend the expectations of instrument and genre.  With  appearances at the DC Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola (Jazz at Lincoln Center), the Umbria Jazz Festival, Pure Jazz Den Haag, and at major venues throughout North America, the Caribbean, and Europe, he has been meticulously solidifying his reputation as a master of the Steel Pan and crafting an improvisational voice and style to be reckoned with.  Provost’s ability to extemporaneously weave through chord changes and tonalities with accuracy and conviction, while being thoughtful and creative, often elicits the statement “I didn’t know a steel pan could do that”.  He is one of a handful of pan players in the world who have incorporated a Bebop foundation into his playing, and arguably, the only one who has expounded on that vocabulary with a modern sensibility and style.

Born and raised on the island of St. John, Provost’s musical journey began with classical piano lessons at age 10.  Two years later, with the help of master teacher Jan Kinder, he won the Virgin Islands Classical Music Competition in the “Advanced Piano” category with Grieg’s A Minor Concerto (Norwegian Concerto).  Later that year he heard Steel Unlimited II Youth Steel Orchestra rehearsing under the leadership of steel pan pioneer, Rudy Wells.  The “Orchestra” was the flagship of the St. John School of the Arts, directed by Ruth “Sis” Frank.  It was with this group of extraordinary young musicians that Provost first cut his teeth on the world stage, traveling throughout the U.S., France, Switzerland, Denmark, and Germany.  The Orchestra eventually disbanded, but the experience planted the seed that prepared him to continue learning through several sessions with Wells and, in 2007, a year-long independent study with legendary Jazz Guru Charlie Banacos.

In 1998, Provost became the first steel pan player to be featured as a solo artist at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy. The experience boosted both his confidence in the craft and his musical concept.  Since his move to the United States in 1999, Provost has had the fortune of performing and touring with several award-winning groups and has shared the stage with  the likes of Jazz super stars Hugh Masakela, Nicholas Payton, Steve Turre, Terrell Stafford, Wycliffe Gordon, Marcus Printup, Tarus Mateen, Ron Blake, Etienne Charles, Essiet Essiet, Rashawn Ross, Reuben Rogers, and Dion Parson to name a few.

Along with a demanding performance schedule, Provost teaches private lessons, directs the George Mason University Steel Ensemble, and works with the Cultural Academy For Excellence, one of the premier steel pan music education program in the eastern U.S.

Victor Provost endorses Innovative Percussion Steel Pan mallets.