Saturday, September 27, 2008

Sphinx Brings Message of Diversity to Carnegie Hall

The Sphinx Laureates at Carnegie Hall presented by Chase--October 21.
New York, NY, September 27, 2008 -- The Sphinx Organization, the national organization dedicated to building diversity in classical music, will return to Carnegie Hall for a performance on October 21. The concert will feature the acclaimed Sphinx Chamber Orchestra and the Harlem Quartet. The Sphinx Laureates at Carnegie Hall is presented with generous support from Chase.

The concert at Carnegie Hall is just one performance on the orchestra’s first national tour. The tour will take the orchestra to eight cities from the Midwest to New England.

The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra will take the stage at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, October 21 at 6:00. Tickets are $20, and available through the Carnegie Hall Box Office at (212) 247-7800 or www.CarnegieHall.org. VIP and Box Seat tickets are available through Sphinx by calling (646) 429-1987 ext 713.

The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra comprises top alumni of the Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latino string players. Conductor Chelsea Tipton II will lead the orchestra. Tipton is Resident Conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared as a guest conductor with the Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, and New World Symphony Orchestras and the Boston Pops Orchestra.

The Harlem Quartet, comprising first-place Laureates of the Sphinx Competition, has a unique and challenging mission: to advance diversity in classical music while engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire, highlighting works by minority composers. The Quartet has performed around the country, including three performances at Carnegie Hall.

Inspired by Sphinx’s artistic mission, the concert will offer standard repertoire along with masterpieces by Black and Latino composers. Pieces by Schubert, George Walker, Vivaldi, Villa-Lobos, and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson will be featured.

“Ten years ago, I could only dream about an orchestra of Black and Latino musicians touring the country, said Aaron Dworkin, Founder and President of Sphinx. “This year, that dream becomes a reality. The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra is part of the new face of classical music that will shape the way young people connect with classical music.” Dworkin founded Sphinx in 1996 while a student at the University of Michigan. His work with the organization has been recognized around the world. In 2005, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his pioneering work. [Full Post]

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