Bill Text: MS SR15 | 2026 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Recognize MS Composer/Playwright/Performer Heather Christian as 2026 Governor's Arts Award recipient for Excellence in Music Composition.
Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 4-2)
Status: (Passed) 2026-02-04 - Adopted [SR15 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-SR15-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Chassaniol, McCaughn
Senate Resolution 15
(As Adopted by Senate)
A RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE RECOGNITION OF THE MISSISSIPPI SENATE TO AWARD-WINNING MISSISSIPPI COMPOSER/PLAYWRIGHT/PERFORMER HEATHER CHRISTIAN FROM NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI, AS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2026 GOVERNOR'S ARTS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MUSIC COMPOSITION.
WHEREAS, the Governor's Arts Awards program has announced its 2026 recipients, which include award-winning Mississippi Composer/Playwright/Performer Heather Christian From Natchez, Mississippi, as the 2026 Governor's Arts Award recipient for Excellence in Music Composition; and
WHEREAS, the Governor's Arts Awards program signifies the important relationship between government and the arts. Established in 1988, the Governor's Arts Awards program recognizes individuals and organizations who have made noteworthy contributions to or achieved artistic excellence in Mississippi and is the most prestigious award for living artists in the state. The Mississippi Arts Commission presents the awards each year in partnership with the Governor's Office. The 38th Governor's Arts Awards ceremony is February 12, 2026, at The Westin Jackson. The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) and the Governor's Office are pleased to announce four outstanding artists and one legacy arts organization as recipients of the 2026 Governor's Arts Awards; and
WHEREAS, Heather Christian is a Drama Desk and two-time Obie Award-winning composer, playwright, and performer known for creating music-centered shows and rituals. Originally from Natchez, she is the recipient of the 2021 Richard Rodgers Award, the 2022 Stephen Schwartz Outstanding New Composer Award, and the 2024 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. She is the BMI Outstanding Score Winner and a Sundance Institute Time Warner Fellow. Most recently, Christian was named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow, commonly known as a "MacArthur Genius Grant"; and
WHEREAS, her recent composing and performing credits include her own works: Oratorio for Living Things (Ars Nova, Signature Theatre), Terce: A Practical Breviary (Prototype Festival and HERE Arts Center), and Animal Wisdom (The Bushwick Starr, which is now a motion picture with a remount set for Signature Theatre in spring 2026). She also created I Am Sending You the Sacred Face (Theater in Quarantine/YouTube�Vulture's Top Theater Experience of 2020) and Prime: A Practical Breviary (Playwrights Horizons' Soundstage�IndieWire's #1 Podcast Episode of 2020). Additionally, she has been a lead artist on devised works like Mission Drift (National Theater, London) and The World Is Round (BAM); and
WHEREAS, when plans began for a brand-new musical based on Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, her granddaughter and manager of the estate, Charlotte Jones Voiklis, chose Heather to be the composer and lyricist because of her spiritual curiosity, emotional depth and ferocious imagination. The world premiere of the show was at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage in the summer of 2025; and
WHEREAS, Heather is currently an artist in residence at NYC's Signature Theatre, where her shows Oratorio for Living Things and Animal Wisdom are part of the 2025-2026 season with a third show to be produced in the future; and
WHEREAS, in film and television, her composition credits include Lemon (Magnolia Pictures), The Craft: Legacy (Sony Pictures/Blumhouse), Teenage Euthanasia (Adult Swim), The Shivering Truth (Adult Swim), and most recently, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (BBC+Netflix). Heather has released 11 records, taught vocal-based music composition at NYU and Princeton, and owns and operates her own recording studio in Beacon, New York. She can often be seen performing in concert halls and dive bars as Heather Christian & the Arbornauts; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we pay tribute and express appreciation for the energy of a Mississippi composer who has made Mississippi a better place and exemplifies the charitable and artistic/musical traditions of our great state:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby extend the recognition of the Mississippi Senate to award-winning Mississippi Composer/Playwright/Performer Heather Christian from Natchez, Mississippi, as the recipient of the 2026 Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Music Composition and extend our congratulations to this outstanding arts and civic leader on this auspicious occasion.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Heather Christian and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
