Brian Lewis
Professor of Violin
David and Mary Winton Green Chair in
String Performance and Pedagogy
The University of Texas at Austin
Artistic Director
Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies
The Juilliard School
Winner of 1990 Elizabeth B. Koch Fellowship Award
for $30,000
“Liz Koch and the Kansas Cultural Trust have truly changed my life! As a young man, I was at first most impressed with the financial generosity that Liz Koch and the KCT were providing to numerous artists across the state. But even more importantly, I quickly learned that they were providing more than just funds; the KCT was giving me encouragement to become the best artist I could be. This type of belief in the individual artist is rare these days, and I am proud of all they have done for so many.
“Kansas is alive with the arts in all its various forms. When I had the opportunity as a child to meet the great American composer Aaron Copland on one of his two visits to Ottawa, Kansas, he expressed to me that the future of American music would come from the Heartland. The KCT has helped artists support that wonderful idea for many years!”