Jackson has two ballet companies, a symphony orchestra, and two opera companies. Opera South, an integrated but predominantly black company, presents free operas during its summer tours and mounts two major productions yearly. The Mississippi Opera instituted a summer festival during its 1980/81 season. There are local symphony orchestras in Meridian, Starkville, Tupelo, and Greenville.
The established professional theaters in the state are the Sheffield Ensemble in Biloxi and the New Stage in Jackson. The Greater Gulf Coast Arts Center has been very active in bringing arts programs into the coastal area.
A distinctive contribution to US culture is the music of black sharecroppers from the Delta, known as the blues. The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale has an extensive collection documenting blues history. The annual Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival is held in Greenville.
In 2003, the Mississippi Arts Commission and other Mississippi arts organizations received grants totaling $660,200 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The commission also receives significant sums from the state and private sources. In 2000, the National Endowment for the Humanities contributed $689,624 to 11 state programs.