Sphinx Organization is the Detroit-based, nationally focused social justice organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. In 2022, Sphinx is celebrating its most significant milestone to date, its 25th anniversary!
“Sphinx’s 25th anniversary is an important milestone not only for recognizing the work of the past, but for shining a light on the present and the future; not just for celebrating 25 years of excellence and diversity in classical music, but for reaffirming our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to the programs through which Sphinx has become a true epicenter for artists and leaders in diversity." – Afa S. Dworkin
Founded in 1997 by violinist Aaron P. Dworkin, and now led by Artistic Director and President Afa S. Dworkin, Sphinx is a movement that catalyzes change in the landscape of classical music, with $10M+ invested in artist grants and scholarships, a digital imprint of 60 million, and an alumni roster of more than 1,000 artists and leaders.
Make a gift today that will shape the future of classical music, a future where the field looks like our communities: where every young person has the opportunity to express themselves and learn classical music; where audiences reflect the people we see on our streets; and where leadership—on stage and off—includes all voices.
EDUCATION & ACCESS
Making classical music and creative youth development accessible to historically excluded neighborhoods through education initiatives and community engagement
Reaching students in Detroit and Flint communities through Sphinx Overture music and creative youth development programs
Partnering with top music conservatories via Sphinx Performance Academy to provide high-quality intensive training for emerging Black and Latinx classical musicians ages 11-17
Serving 150,000 young people through tuition-free musical training and community engagement
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
The National Alliance for Audition Support (NAAS), serving early-career Black and Latinx artists in partnership with the New World Symphony and League of American Orchestras; 81 auditions or placements with orchestras across the country, awarding 400 grants and nearly $400,000 awarded to artists.
The only national competition empowering and nurturing young Black and Latinx soloists
A growing applicant pool for Sphinx programs—up 60% last year alone—with demand for places in professional development programs extremely high, proving that the pipeline is robust
PERFORMING ARTISTS
4 performing and touring ensembles, including the nationally acclaimed Sphinx Virtuosi, EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble, and Harlem and Catalyst Quartets
The Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, the only professional ensemble with the singular mission of fostering diversity and artistic excellence, as well as developing new audiences
ARTS LEADERSHIP
SphinxConnect, the largest- and longest-standing global convening dedicated to diversity and inclusion in performing arts
Sphinx LEAD, the only professional leadership program dedicated to diversity and empowering the C-suite arts leaders of tomorrow
The largest awards program empowering Black and Latinx classical music artists
The only field-wide grant program fostering innovation and diversity led by industry institutions and artists
Over the course of 25 years, Sphinx has evolved its programming to support artists and leaders at every stage:
SPHINX ORCHESTRAL PARTNERS
COMMISSIONED WORKS BY BLACK AND LATINX COMPOSERS
IN AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
FULL SCHOLARSHIPS TO EDUCATION PROGRAMS
SPHINX ALUMNI
REACHED THROUGH MEDIA AND DIGITAL PROGRAMMING
PARTNERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
COUNTRIES REACHED THROUGH GLOBAL PROGRAMMING
REACHED THROUGH ANNUAL PROGRAMMING AND 2 MILLION IN LIVE AND BROADCAST AUDIENCES
LARGEST DATABASE OF BLACK AND LATINX MUSICIANS
ALUMNI TESTIMONIALS
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Elena Urioste
“I am proud to be an ambassador for classical music and indebted to Sphinx for allowing me, with their help and encouragement, to step into that role, one I hope to occupy for the rest of my life.”
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Joseph Conyers
“I'm inspired by Sphinx every day, and I'm forever grateful to the organization for supporting me in my career so that I may support others in theirs.”
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Sterling Elliott
"Sphinx's mentorship has been essential for my development as an artist. Not only has the Sphinx family encouraged and supported me to strive for achievements, such as the Sphinx Competition, they have also allowed me to witness first-hand a career as a professional musician.”
Sphinx Organization: A 25-Year Journey
1997
Violinist Aaron P. Dworkin, an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance, creates the Sphinx Competition to provide competitive performance opportunities for the most talented young Black and Latinx string musicians in the country. His goal is to increase representation in professional orchestras.
Inspired by the geographic source and the rich diversity of the region, Sphinx Founder chooses the name “Sphinx” to reflect the power, wisdom, and persistence that characterize the competition’s participants, as well as the enigmatic and interpretive nature of music and art.
1998
The inaugural Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latinx string players takes place with great acclaim and success in Ann Arbor, MI, at the Hill Auditorium. An internationally renowned panel of judges selects two winners, violinists Tai Murray and Christina Castelli, both of whom go on to have successful performance careers.
The National Symphony Orchestra and Ann Arbor Symphony become the first two orchestras to offer solo performance opportunities to the competition winners, marking the start of Sphinx’s Soloist Initiatives to advance excellence and diversity on stage for soloists.
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1999
The Sphinx Competition expands to two separate age divisions to meet the high demand and abundance of talent: Juniors (under 18) and Seniors (18-26).
Mr. Dworkin realizes Sphinx needs to create a pipeline of Black and Latinx string musicians. To continue artist development and advancement after the competition, Sphinx launches partnerships with a dozen summer programs, offering scholarships to competition participants, and giving birth to the Summer Education Program. Among inaugural partners are Aspen Festival and School, Tanglewood, National Orchestral Institute, and National Repertory Orchestra. He also hires Sphinx’s first full-time staff member.
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2000
The Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, a professional all-Black and Latinx orchestra, is assembled to perform in Detroit and Ann Arbor, MI, in partnership with the National Symposium for African-American Artists and Educators founded by Dr. Willis Patterson, Dean Emeritus of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Michael Morgan, the Music Director of the Oakland Symphony serves as the inaugural guest conductor. The SSO performs its own concert as well as at the Sphinx Competition Finals, alongside Sphinx Competition laureates. Members of the inaugural orchestra includes past and present members of the New York Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Boston Symphony, and beyond. Today, the SSO is the longest-standing symphony orchestra comprising professional Black and Latinx musicians from across the country.
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2002
The Sphinx Symphony Orchestra commissions and premieres its first full-scale work by a living composer, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s Symphony of the Sphinx, with words by poet Nikki Giovanni. Willis Patterson’s Ann Arbor-based Our Own Thing Chorale and Detroit’s Brazeal Dennard’s Chorale perform with the orchestra at the premiere, conducted by Dr. Leslie B. Dunner. Symphony of the Sphinx was to be the final full-scale work completed by Perkinson who died in 2004.
To date, Sphinx has commissioned 30+ new works and arrangements by Black and Latinx composers and has awarded the Sphinx Medal of Excellence to four composers: Gabriela Frank (2013), Damien Sneed (2014), Jessie Montgomery (2020), and Carlos Simon (2021).
2004
Sphinx expands into youth development programs, launching the Sphinx Preparatory Institute, an all-instrument preparatory program serving young people in Detroit, and the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School, a competitive national summer boot camp for young aspiring Black and Latinx artists. Both programs are met with high demand, resulting in further growth explorations.
2004 also marks the launch of the Sphinx College-Bound Program (originally part of the Music Assistance Fund held in partnership with the League of American Orchestras) as well as the Sphinx Instrument Fund. University of Michigan, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and Cleveland Institute of Music become the inaugural partners.
The inaugural Sphinx Gala is held at Carnegie Hall featuring the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra, later to be renamed Sphinx Virtuosi. Anthony Elliott and Kay George Roberts serve as guest conductors.
2006
Sphinx founds the Harlem Quartet with a mission to advance diversity in chamber music and to engage young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire including works by composers of color.
Following the successes of Sphinx Preparatory Institute, Sphinx lays the foundation for Sphinx Overture program, with the aim of growing the number of students reached and served at an earlier point of development. Overture establishes itself as the main tuition-free beginning instrumental program in Detroit, MI, continuing to serve the community to this day. Overture has grown from a pilot program of six students in one Flint elementary school to 250+ students at 14 school/community sites in Detroit and Flint, including all nine Flint public elementary schools.
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2007
The Sphinx Virtuosi embarks on its inaugural national tour of 10 cities, including Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati, Miami, and Nashville, culminating at Carnegie Hall. The tour reaches 10,000 people and garners laudatory reviews.
In honor of its 10th anniversary, Sphinx commissions Delights and Dances by composer Michael Abels with the premiere held at Orchestra Hall in Detroit, MI, featuring the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and alumni.
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2009
Sphinx Performance Academy expands its reach to two chapters: Roosevelt University and Oberlin Conservatory.
The Sphinx Soloist Program grows to 20 orchestral partners.
The Sphinx MPower Artist Grants program is launched to address the immediate needs of budding Sphinx alumni.
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2010
The Catalyst Quartet is founded, formed of principal players of the Sphinx Virtuosi, and serving as the latter’s featured quartet.
2012
SphinxCon (now SphinxConnect) an annual national conference focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the performing arts, is held in Detroit, MI, in conjunction with the Sphinx Competition.
The inaugural Sphinx Medals of Excellence are presented. The Sphinx Medal of Excellence is the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, recognizing extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians. Along with a $50,000 career grant, Sphinx annually awards the Medals of Excellence to three artists who, early in their careers, demonstrate artistic excellence, outstanding work ethic, a spirit of determination, and an ongoing commitment to leadership and their communities. (Full list of recipients.)
Sphinx Global Scholars launches with artists traveling across the globe to serve as cultural ambassadors by teaching, learning, and performing abroad. Residencies have included the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Venezuela, Colombia, South Africa, Turkey, and Azerbaijan.
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2013
The Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and Sphinx Virtuosi serve as resident ensembles for Napa Valley’s Festival del Sole, appearing in numerous performances and collaborations with Joshua Bell, Pinchas Zukerman, Alondra de la Parra, and Dmitry Sitkovetsky.
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2014
The Sphinx MPower Artist Grant program comes to full fruition awarding an average of $1,000,000 in competitive scholarships designed to empower alumni of the Sphinx Competition, Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, Sphinx Virtuosi, Sphinx Performance Academy, Sphinx Medals of Excellence, Sphinx LEAD, and EXIGENCE to achieve their career objectives in classical music.
Jessie Montgomery, Sphinx Virtuosi Composer-in-Residence, is commissioned by Sphinx to write Banner, scored for string quartet and string ensemble, as a tribute to The Star-Spangled Banner on its 200th anniversary. The work garners rave reviews, including from The New York Times, and continues to be programmed today.
2015
Sphinx Founder, Aaron P. Dworkin, transitions from his role as President of the Sphinx Organization to lead the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance as its first Black Dean. Afa S. Dworkin — who started as an intern, was hired in 1998 as Sphinx’s first employee, and went on to become Artistic and Executive Director — is elected by the Board of Directors as its second President while also retaining her Artistic Director role.
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2016
Sphinx receives a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award granting a historic opportunity to feature its young artists, The Perfect Fourth Quartet, at The White House, in a performance for then first lady Michelle Obama and distinguished dignitaries and guests, receiving a standing ovation.
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2017
SphinxCon is reimagined as SphinxConnect, the epicenter for artists and leaders in diversity. This annual gathering draws an unprecedented number of participants, almost tripling its initial reach with the most recent edition of SphinxConnect in 2021 welcoming over 2,000 participants, establishing it as the largest and longest-standing convening dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the performing arts.
Joel Thompson’s powerful and acclaimed The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, written to honor seven Black men killed by police or authority figures, is premiered during the Sphinx Competition by the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, led by Dr. Eugene Rogers.
The Sphinx Performance Academy expands its reach to three chapters, including the Cleveland Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and Curtis Institute of Music, annually welcoming nearly 100 students.
This year also marks the inaugural Overture summer camp in Detroit and Flint, MI.
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2018
Sphinx launches the National Alliance for Audition Support seeded by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation in partnership with the New World Symphony and League of American Orchestras. NAAS is an unprecedented national program with the mission to increase diversity in American orchestras by offering Black and Latinx musicians a customized combination of mentoring, audition preparation, financial support, and audition previews.
Sphinx expands its work to support emerging Black and Latinx entrepreneurs through its Sphinx Tank program.
Sphinx launches its first professional vocal ensemble, EXIGENCE, under the direction of its Founding Director, Dr. Eugene Rogers.
2019
Sphinx launches an administrative leadership program, Sphinx LEAD (Leaders in Excellence, Arts & Diversity). This is a two-year full-scholarship leadership program designed to evolve the industry landscape by empowering the next generation of executive leaders. Ten arts leaders of color are selected annually to participate in a curriculum including mentorship, networking, and leadership retreats at top institutions nationwide. The program is seeded by the Knight Foundation. The program becomes a centerpiece initiative, meeting with early acclaim and successful advancement and placement for emerging Black and Latinx administrative leaders.
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2020
Sphinx launches the Sphinx Venture Fund (SVF), pledging to invest $1.5 million to transform the future of cultural diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the arts through competitive grants. SVF aims to catalyze initiatives designed to solve a challenge or an issue related to DEI in the sphere of the performing arts, with an emphasis on classical music.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sphinx launches its first digital tour for both the Sphinx Virtuosi and EXIGENCE, holds its first virtual gala (and most successful to date) and transitions all educational programs to the digital space.
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2021
Sphinx holds its inaugural national orchestral excerpt competition, under the umbrella of Sphinx Orchestral Partnership Auditions (SOPA).
The number of orchestral partners surpasses 100, awarding $17K in prizes annually and securing 75 professional performance opportunities for emerging Black and Latinx orchestral musicians.
Sphinx’s digital audience reach exceeds 66 million, as a result of its innovative virtual programming amidst the global pandemic.
SphinxConnect holds its first virtual edition, garnering the largest participant base across the globe, while the Sphinx Competition sees a spike in demand and applicant pool during its virtual formal edition.
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2022
Sphinx Organization celebrates its 25th anniversary!
Make a gift today that will shape the future of classical music.