Bohemians Artist Residency &
Levinson Arts Achievement Award
The Bohemians Artist Residency & Levinson Arts Achievement Award, administered by The New York Community Trust, supports young artists who demonstrate exceptional promise and creativity. The award provides professionally produced career assets—such as recording, branding, and performance opportunities—culminating in a New York City debut presented by The Bohemians: New York Musicians’ Club. Honoring the legacy of Robert A. and Patricia S. Levinson, this initiative aligns with The Bohemians’ mission to provide a platform that advances the artistic potential and careers of deserving recipients.
The Cerus Quartet: 2025-2026 award Recipients
The Bohemians Artist Residency & Levinson Arts Achievement Award, administered by The New York Community Trust, supports young artists who demonstrate exceptional promise and creativity. The award provides professionally produced career assets—such as recording, branding, and performance opportunities—culminating in a New York City debut presented by The Bohemians: New York Musicians’ Club. Honoring the legacy of Robert A. and Patricia S. Levinson, this initiative aligns with The Bohemians’ mission to provide a platform that advances the artistic potential and careers of deserving recipients.
The Cerus Quartet, winners of the 2025 Concert Artist Guild Louis and Susan Meisel Competition, have been named the 2025-2026 recipients of The Bohemians Artist Residency & Levinson Arts Achievement Award. The saxophone quartet will receive professional career assets including recording, branding, and performance opportunities, culminating in a New York City debut on March 18, 2026.
Emerging as one of the most compelling chamber ensembles of their generation, the Cerus Quartet is dedicated to showcasing the dynamic and versatile sound of the saxophone quartet. With a repertoire spanning contemporary compositions and transcriptions of classical masterworks, the quartet seeks to establish the saxophone quartet as a leading voice in 21st-century classical music. Their mission is driven by diverse, engaging programming and innovative visual elements that captivate audiences.
Cerus champions both new music and timeless repertoire. They have premiered works by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, Karalyn Schubring, and Joey Karz, with a significant commission by Ryan Lindveit debuting in 2025. Their unique programming approach—pairing newly commissioned works with transcriptions of classical mainstays—has not only earned them critical acclaim and competition success but has also shaped a distinctive ensemble sound, allowing them to seamlessly adapt to a wide range of performance settings and musical styles.
The quartet was named the winner of the 2025 Concert Artist Guild Louis and Susan Meisel Competition. As part of that honor, Cerus was awarded the inaugural Bohemians Artist Residency & Robert A. Levinson and Patricia S. Levinson Arts Achievement Award, administered by The New York Community Trust, offering tailored resources to accelerate their career development. Additional accolades include the Gold Medal in the 2025 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, First Prize in the 2024 MTNA National Chamber Music Competition, and First Prize with the Michigan Prize at the 2023 Briggs Chamber Music Competition.
Performing across the U.S. and internationally, Cerus recently appeared at the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, where they emphasized education and community engagement, presenting interactive workshops as well as community performances designed to inspire and connect with audiences of all ages and backgrounds. In the summer of 2025, the quartet participated in the IPR Sound Garden Project, bringing innovative performances to public and community spaces. They were also featured as concerto soloists with the University of Michigan Symphony Band Chamber Winds, performing Chen Yi’s Ba Yin. Based in Ann Arbor, the ensemble is composed of Roberto Campa (soprano saxophone), Laura Ramsay (alto), Kyle Kato (tenor), and Samuel Dishon (baritone).
Their name draws from Greek mythology—Cerus was a wild bull transformed by the goddess Persephone, a story of chaos tamed into beauty. This myth mirrors the quartet’s artistic vision: to reimagine the saxophone as a medium of beauty and expressive depth, deserving of a central role in 21st-century classical music.
About Robert A. Levinson
A textile manufacturer and philanthropist with a deep interest in world affairs, medicine and the arts, Bob was also involved in Democratic politics, including as chairman for Mario Cuomo’s 1977 campaign for New York mayor. He was especially interested in China, and served as board vice chair of the National Committee on US-China Relations.
Bob was born in Baltimore on July 26, 1925. His family soon moved to rural Pennsylvania after its department store business suffered in the Great Depression. He joined the Navy during World War II and witnessed the testing of a hydrogen bomb. He attended Dartmouth College on the GI Bill, graduating in 1946 before earning an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School, and went on to study at the London School of Economics.
“I did well in business thanks to those opportunities,” Bob told the New York Community Trust in 2017 on establishing a fund for five separate fellowships, including ICWA’s Levinson grant.
His work in Navy procurement led him to the private textile industry. He began with Burlington Industries in New York City in 1949, and was later director of Bangor Punta, Inc. and board chairman for the Duplan Corporation, Andrex Industries Corporation and Levcor International. He was known as the largest importer of buttons from China, among his other accomplishments.
Bob’s work in international commerce helped fuel his interest in global affairs as well as Democratic politics, said ICWA Executive Director Gregory Feifer, who remembers him as “larger than life, a pleasure to talk to about most anything, with stories that could fill a novel or more.”
Recalling the Democratic National Convention in 1968, Feifer said, Bob described urging the eventual presidential nominee, then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey, to address protesters outside his headquarters at the Conrad Hilton hotel. Humphrey declined, a decision some believe may have helped him lose the general election that November.
Bob met ICWA’s former Executive Director Peter Bird Martin—another stalwart Dartmouth alumnus—in the 1990s through Peter’s wife Lu, who worked in development for the college. Joining the board, Bob remained close to the institute ever since. The current Levinson fellow, Joshua Levkowitz, based in Istanbul, is reporting on the Syrian diaspora in neighboring countries and further afield.
“Bob was a remarkable man,” Trustee and former fellow Chandler Rosenberger said. “Forthright, sometimes blunt, but also collaborative in everything. He wanted to get things done, and by God did he. I’ll miss him very much.”
Bob’s many philanthropic activities included chairing boards of the Brooklyn Museum, The Harlem School of the Arts and the National Dance Institute, as well as serving on the Board of Overseers of the Hood Museum and Hopkins Performing Arts Center at Dartmouth College, and as co-chair of the Patricia S. Levinson Center for the Community Cultural Affairs department at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, which he and Pat helped establish.
He is survived by his children Margot, Andrew and John, and five grandchildren.