Mr. Leonard Ligon

Leonard Ligon began his musical life playing Chicago blues with his father, who taught him to play drums and electric bass, before he began pursuing classical studies.

Mr. Ligon attended the University of Georgia, where he received Bachelor of Music degrees in both double bass performance and music theory as well as a Master of Music in bass performance. Following his studies at UGA, he attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in pursuit of a Master of Music in music theory. Mr. Ligon studied music abroad in Italy at the Allessandria, Milan, Turin, and Parma conservatories in the summers during his time at UGA. Mr. Ligon attended the Festival Internacional de Inferno da UFSM in Brazil, and he attended the Brevard Music Center Festival in North Carolina twice.

Mr. Ligon’s music theory research interests focus on orchestral music from composers of the early twentieth century, including Charles Ives and Dmitri Shostakovich. Analytically, he is interested in the intersection of tonal theory and neo-Riemannian operations.

As an orchestral player, Mr. Ligon currently plays with many orchestras in the Alabama and Mississippi area including the Tuscaloosa Symphony, North Mississippi Symphony, and the Alabama Symphony.