OregonLive.com: Sphinx Virtuosi, the country's only black and Latino string orchestra, performs at PSU [Portland State University]

Sphinx Virtuosi
(Nan Melville)

The Oregonian

by David Stabler

September 29, 2014

Only 5 percent of musicians in American orchestras are black or Latino, according to the League of American Orchestras. The Sphinx Organization, based in Detroit, is trying to change that. Each year, it holds the widely admired Sphinx Competition to identify young black and Latino string players and promote their careers. 

On Oct. 11, the Sphinx Virtuosi performs a concert at Portland State University. The group is the only black and Latino string orchestra in the country. Proceeds from the concert benefit the college's music scholarships. Specially priced $5 tickets allow youth to attend the concert.

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Their program includes works by the brilliant fiddler Mark O'Connor, John Corigliano, Gabriela Lena Frank, composers of color and others.
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11

PSU's Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park Ave.