Thomas Wilkins
2017 Guest Conductor
Sphinx Symphony Orchestra
University of Michigan Men's Glee Club
Dr. Eugene Rogers
Soprano Martina Arroyo
Aaron P. Dworkin
Sphinx Founder
Afa S. Dworkin
President and Artistic Director
Sphinx Organization
January 2017
Detroit – The Sphinx Organization will celebrate 20 years
of transforming lives through diversity in the arts by launching a new
artist network and global convening, SphinxConnect, in conjunction with
the nonprofit’s flagship Sphinx Competition this Feb. in Detroit
The national Sphinx Competition presented by DTE Energy Foundation,
featuring the top young musicians of color, ages 12-30, will culminate
in the Finals Concert at 2p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12th at Detroit’s Max M.
and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center. The three Senior Division (ages
18-30) finalists will perform with the all Black and Latino Sphinx
Symphony Orchestra (SSO), lead by guest conductor Thomas Wilkins, and
compete for a top prize of $50,000 and a chance to solo with major
orchestras across the country. Additionally, audience members will have
the opportunity to text in their votes for the Audience Choice winner,
sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. The SSO and featured
guest University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, lead by conductor Eugene
Rogers, will premiere a newly commissioned fully orchestrated version of
“The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” by composer Joel Thompson, made
possible in part with the support of Linda and Stuart Nelson. This is a
multi-movement work honoring the lives of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin,
Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Kenneth Chamberlain, Amadou Diallo,
and John Crawford.
Sphinx will also launch SphinxConnect, the epicenter for artists and
leaders in diversity, a global convening dedicated to career development
for musicians of color. Hundreds of musicians, industry leaders,
students, and diversity advocates will gather from Feb. 9-12 at the
Westin Book Cadillac for over 30 sessions, more than 60 speakers, and
featured performances by this nation’s top young artists. Sessions will
include a Sphinx Artist Showcase with a juried prize of $3,000 (in
addition to a separate audience choice prize), and the Arthur L. Johnson
Memorial Interview with soprano Martina Arroyo lead by Sphinx Founder
Aaron P. Dworkin.
Since the inaugural Competition in 1998, Sphinx has grown to include
education programs reaching more than 100,000 students, many in
underserved communities including Detroit and Flint, MI; scholarship and
grant programs that have distributed more than $4 million in
instruments, college tuition, and other education and career development
opportunities; touring orchestras and quartets that have reached 70
cities in 13 countries; and more. Sphinx Competition alum Joseph Conyers
now holds the position of Assistant Principal Bass with the
Philadelphia Orchestra and has founded his own arts nonprofit, Project
440. Conyers says, “As a 16-year-old kid, Sphinx meant to me that I
wasn’t alone. I will never forget meeting for the first time young
musicians of color who were as passionate about classical music as I
was…Now, as a professional musician, I can look on the Sphinx
Organization and see the profound impact that it is having in the
world.”
Sphinx is now headed by President and Artistic Director Afa S.
Dworkin, who has served in various leadership roles since Sphinx’s
inception and has been recognized as one of 30 classical music
influencers in the country by Musical America as well as one of Crain’s
40 Under 40 leaders. “Our work began as a grassroots effort to encourage
access, inclusion and exposure within classical music. Through the
advocacy and hard work of countless passionate individuals, and a proven
track record of artistic excellence and positive change, it has evolved
into a global social justice movement,” Dworkin says.
For more information: about Sphinx, tickets to the Finals Concert, registration for SphinxConnect
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