Friday, June 24, 2011

DowntownMagazineNYC.com: 'Sphinx Organization Serves Up Colorful Taste of Diverse Young Classical Music Talent'

[Violinist Randall Goosby Performs at Carnegie Hall]

June 23, 2011
“The emerging new face of classical music was on display Tuesday evening when gifted 14-year-old violinist Randall Goosby, one of the talented young laureates of the Sphinx Organization, performed at the Bloomberg Tower in Midtown. The riveting performance served as a prelude for the Organization’s upcoming annual showcase of Virtuosi of Color at Carnegie Hall on October 12. The high-profile event will be hosted by Vanessa Williams and serve as a celebration of Sphinx’s incredibly successful 15-year-track record of engaging and providing opportunities in the world of classical music for young and talented kids in the Black and Latin-American communities.

“The organization was founded in 1996 by Aaron Dworkin, an African-American violinist, in an effort to overcome the cultural stereotype of classical music in minority communities, and encourage minority participation and enjoyment of it.” “Mr. Dworkin, who was recently nominated to be a member of the President’s National Council on the Arts, is himself a virtuoso violinist who was motivated to found the organization based on his own difficulties finding entrance and acceptance in the world of classical music.

“Sure I felt resistance, he said, “I was aware that I was the only person who looked like me in my immediate experience. But I had a great mentor (Vladimir Graffman). I studied at Peabody (MA) Prep. I wanted other kids of color to have similar opportunities.” So he did something about it…when he was still a kid.” “A decade-and-a-half later, Sphinx is a testimony to his commitment to opening doors to kids of color to classical music…not only as performers, but as fans. [Aaron Dworkin (b. 1970) is profiled at AfriClassical.com and has a personal website, http://www.AaronDworkin.com]

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