Vol. 17, No. 2 The Quarter Note Summer 2016 q Aaron P. Dworkin Founder Photos: Glenn Triest the epicenter for artists and leaders in diversity Get inspired. Network. Lead. 2017 Will Mark the Sphinx Organization’s 20th Anniversary! We look forward to welcoming hundreds of attendees to an important weekend of networking, inspiration, and leadership from February 9-12, 2017 at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit. Musicians of color, industry leaders, students, diversity advocates, and more will: n Participate in over 40 sessions dedicated to diversity in classical music n Learn from and engage with more than 60 speakers n Attend several performances by the nation’s top Black and Latino musicians n Connect to establish an important network to further diversity in our field with over 250 musicians of color, Sphinx’s largest convening of musicians in its 20 year existence Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in the global conversation of diversity in the arts. For more information and to register now visit www.SphinxConnect.org! What can you look forward to? u e 20th Annual Sphinx Competition (Feb. 8-12, 2017), featuring unprecedented performances from alumni and a special commissioned piece by Joel ompson, for full orchestra and the University of Michigan’s Men’s Glee Club u An evolution of SphinxCon called SphinxConnect: a convening to connect artists of color with industry leadership (Feb. 9-12, 2017) u e Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall, with an original commission by Peruvian American composer Jimmy Lopez (Oct. 2017, Date TBD) u Exciting updates on other special 20th items! How can you participate right now? u Explore our new web site at SphinxMusic.org, particularly the “20 Years 2 Million Stories” and “20th Anniversary Celebration” pages u Post your favorite Sphinx memory or how Sphinx has inspired you on Facebook with the hashtag #SphinxStories - then visit Sphinx’s Facebook page to see what others have shared u Join a 20th anniversary sponsorship level to help sustain Sphinx’s program and guarantee admission to the 2017 Sphinx Competition Finals Concert, Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall, and other exciting anniversary year events! Contact erese Goussy at [email protected]2017
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Vol. 17, No. 2
The Quarter NoteSummer 2016
q
Aaron P. Dworkin Founder
Photos: Glenn Triest
the epicenter for artists and leaders in diversity
Get inspired.Network.
Lead.
2017 Will Mark the Sphinx Organization’s 20th Anniversary!
We look forward to welcoming hundreds of attendees to an important weekend of networking, inspiration, and leadership from February 9-12, 2017 at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit. Musicians of color, industry leaders, students, diversity advocates, and more will: n Participate in over 40 sessions dedicated to diversity in classical musicn Learn from and engage with more than 60 speakersn Attend several performances by the nation’s top Black and Latino musiciansn Connect to establish an important network to further diversity in our field with over 250 musicians of color, Sphinx’s largest convening of musicians in its 20 year existence
Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in the global conversation of diversity in the arts. For more information and to register now visit www.SphinxConnect.org!
What can you look forward to?u The 20th Annual Sphinx Competition (Feb. 8-12, 2017), featuring unprecedented performances from alumni and a special commissioned piece by Joel Thompson, for full orchestra and the University of Michigan’s Men’s Glee Clubu An evolution of SphinxCon called SphinxConnect: a convening to connect artists of color with industry leadership (Feb. 9-12, 2017)u The Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall, with an original commission by Peruvian American composer Jimmy Lopez (Oct. 2017, Date TBD)u Exciting updates on other special 20th items!
How can you participate right now?u Explore our new web site at SphinxMusic.org, particularly the “20 Years 2 Million Stories” and “20th Anniversary Celebration” pagesu Post your favorite Sphinx memory or how Sphinx has inspired you on Facebook with the hashtag #SphinxStories - then visit Sphinx’s Facebook page to see what others have sharedu Join a 20th anniversary sponsorship level to help sustain Sphinx’s program and guarantee admission to the 2017 Sphinx Competition Finals Concert, Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall, and other exciting anniversary year events! Contact Therese Goussy at [email protected]
2017
PRESIDENT’S NOTEDear Friends,
I hope you are all enjoying summer! One of the highlights of this time of year at Sphinx is the focus on our education programs. As we do annually, we wrapped up our Sphinx Overture classes in May with a series of recitals from our Detroit and Flint elementary students. It is always a joy to see how much they have learned throughout the school year. We are thrilled that this year, thanks to very generous support from the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, we have the opportunity to continue these beginning violin lessons into the summer with the first ever summer camp session of Overture!
While our elementary students play on in Detroit, 12- to 17-year-old musicians from across the country will be headed to Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and
Roosevelt University in Illinois for our Sphinx Performance Academy. We are so proud of this immensely transformative full-scholarship summer program, as we continue to see SPA students and alumni competing in the Sphinx Competition, being accepted to top music schools, and receiving awards and career grants. We can’t wait to see what this year’s amazing group of artists will bring!
As part of our Global Scholars program, we recently had the opportunity to send two Sphinx artists, Melissa White and Tony Rymer, to complete a 1-week residency in London through London Music Masters. We are further excited to host the Sphinx Global Symposium on diversity in London, in partnership with Chineke! Foundation, London Music Masters, Southbank Centre and Sistema Europe, on July 18th.
Thank you all for your continued enthusiasm for our mission. As you will see in this newsletter, we are quickly approaching Sphinx’s 20th Anniversary in 2017. We know that we would not be where we are today without the amazing support of our Sphinx family. Stay tuned for exciting updates as we prepare for this very special anniversary year!
“I have a long history with the Sphinx Organization, spanning more than half my life already. I've been granted opportunities that have allowed me to study, perform, educate, mentor and travel the globe as an ambassador for diversity and classical music. I've built an international network made up of Sphinx alums who are not just my friends and colleagues, but my family. Sphinx allowed me to dream even bigger in awarding me a 2015 MPower Artist Grant that enabled me to co-write, produce, present and perform a multi-media song cycle for rock band, string quartet, video projec-tions and dance, inspired by the stories of Arabian Nights and the character of Scheherazade. The Scheherazade Project is one of the biggest, most exciting and gratifying challenges I've ever taken on, and Sphinx's support was fundamental to our success.”
Jannina NorpothSphinx Competition Sphinx SymphonySPA FacultyMPower Artist Grant Recipient
SAVE THE DATE: Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall
October 20, 2016Join us on Thursday, October 20th at 6 pm for the 2016 Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall performance and gala, presented by The Sander and Norma K. Buchman Fund. The program is titled Viajes Latinos: Latin Voyages and will feature the Sphinx Virtuosi, the critically acclaimed all Black and Latino self-conducted ensemble, led by the New York-based Catalyst Quartet. Reserve your tickets today!
Contact Therese Goussy at [email protected] or 313-877-9100, ext. 713 for Gala tickets & participation levels, which begin at $250 and support our music education programs in the New York & tri-state area.For General Admission, student & group ticket reservations, please contact Abigayl Venman at 313-877-9100, ext. 715 or [email protected]
Sphinx Virtuosi 2016 Tour Schedule:Sept. 22: New World Center (Miami, FL)Sept. 24 & 26: Harriman-Jewell Series (Kansas City, KS)Sept. 28: Penn State University, Altoona (Altoona, PA)Sept. 29: Penn State University (State College, PA)Sept. 30: Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)Oct. 2 & 6: Bayview Opera House (San Francisco, CA)Oct. 5: San Jose State University (San Jose, CA)Oct. 8: National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC)Oct. 9: Chamber Music Raleigh (Raleigh, NC)Oct. 12-14: Arts & Science Council (Charlotte, NC)Oct. 16: Modlin Center (Richmond, VA)Oct. 18: Virginia Arts Festival (Norfolk, VA)Oct. 20: Carnegie Hall (New York City, NY)Oct. 21: Rockefeller University (New York City, NY)Oct. 22: University of Delaware (Newark, DE)Oct. 24: College-Conservatory of Music (Cincinnati, OH)Oct. 26: Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI)Oct. 27: Berman Center for the Performing Arts (West Bloomfield, MI)Oct. 30: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (St. Paul, MN)
Sphinx Performance AcademyKicks Off Its 14th Summer!
Congratulations to Our Overture Students!
Hosted by Roosevelt University and Oberlin College, SPA has once again invited 64 Black and Latino string players, ages 12-17, to learn from top Sphinx Competition alumni, including one of Sphinx’s premier ensembles, the Catalyst Quartet. The intensive schedule includes private lessons, quartet rehearsals, music theory classes, and live performances. Some highlights of our 2016 program include master classes with world-renowned violinist Rachel Barton Pine, and Dr. Melissa Kraut, cello professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Additionally, students will get to see exciting performances from our esteemed faculty as well as the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra.Sphinx is also honored to announce our partnership with Associated Chamber Music Players (ACMP). ACMP has graciously granted Sphinx the transformative ACMP Susan McIntosh Lloyd Award. Recipients of this award will now be able to subsidize their travel to SPA, making it easier for students to reach their musical goals.SPA will run from July 1-15 at Roosevelt University and July 17-27 at Oberlin Conservatory. We hope local Sphinx supporters will be able to join us for our student quartet recitals, which are free and open to the public. Friday, July 15 from 12pm – 2pm CDT at Ganz Hall, 7th floor of Roosevelt University: 430 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605. Wednesday, July 27 from 12pm – 2pm EDT at the Fairchild Chapel of Oberlin campus: 50 W Lorain St, Oberlin, OH 44870.
This school year, Sphinx Overture provided more than 1,000 students opportunities for violin instruction, guest artist visits, and live performances. Overture reaches students in Detroit and Flint, MI, helping identify their creative voices and building their character as citizens in their community.
This year, Sphinx was thrilled to launch our first ever Overture Summer Camp at Samuel Gompers Elementary School in Brightmoor, Detroit. We extend a huge thank you to Gompers for hosting the camp, and especially to the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation for their generosity in funding this pilot program. Our Detroit students worked with esteemed violin instructors from Detroit and surrounding cities, including Leslie DeShazor, Erin Zucniewicz, Natalie Frakes, Tia Imani Hanna, Ashley Nelson, and Tracy Dunlop.
Overture students in Flint, MI perform during their final recital
Sphinx Grants $150,000 to Help Transform the Careers of 18 ArtistsThe MPower Artist Grants were launched to empower alumni of the Sphinx Competition, Sphinx Symphony, Sphinx Virtuosi, Sphinx Performance Academy and Sphinx Medals of Excellence (years 2012 and 2013 only) to achieve their career objectives in classical music through granting competitive scholarships. To learn more about the 2016 recipients, please visit:
www.SphinxMusic.org/mpower-artist-grants
SPHINX NEWSClifton Boyd, SPA Alum ‘09 - ‘10, is attending Yale University, fall of 2016, as a Ph.D. Student in Music Theory. He is 1 of 15 candidates (out of 487) who were selected for the Dean’s Emerging Scholars Fellowship program.
Alexandra Levatter, SPA 16 student, is attending the University of Michigan School of Music,Theatre, and Dance, studying with Danielle Belen.
Linton Robinson, SPA ‘15 alum, is attending the Berklee College of Music in the fall of 2016.
Malik Johnson, SPA ‘12 - ‘15 alum, is attending the Brevard Music Center this summer.
In partnership with Associated Chamber Music Players, we have awarded 6 students with the ACMP Susan McIntosh Lloyd Award! This award will help subsidize travel for our students attending SPA. Congrats to Samantha Crawford, Mystique Evans, Bruno Bello, Olasuyi Ige, Jordan Simmons, and Gabrielle Stanback.
Send us your news and updates: [email protected] Annual Sphinx CompetitionFebruary 8 - 12, 2017, Detroit, MI
Application Materials Due: Monday, November 7, 11:59PM EST
Presented by the DTE Energy Foundation and hosted by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Sphinx Competition will feature Black and Latino string musicians from across the nation competing for over $200,000 in prizes and a chance to perform as soloists with Sphinx’s Orchestral Partners.
Applications are now being accepted online:Sphinx.FluidReview.com
Sphinx is honored to have commissioned composer Joel Thompson to orchestrate his piece “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed,” dedicated to seven unarmed African-American men who lost their lives to police brutality, for full orchestra and choir. He took some time to connect with The Quarter Note about his inspirations, lessons, and growth.
Quarter Note: How did you get started composing? Joel Thompson: I was moved to tears by Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” as a nine-year-old. I had no context for the music - I just felt
400 Renaissance CenterSuite 2550Detroit MI 48243
Somethingto Ponder:
“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” -- Billy Joel.
pure joy, and I knew that I wanted to create moments like the one I’d just experienced. I accessed some notational software in my late high school/early college years. After hearing my initial ideas come to life, I was hooked; however, negative experiences discouraged me from sharing my works. Seven Last Words of the Unarmed was the first thing I shared after five years of timidness, and I’m glad I did. QN: Who are some of your biggest musical inspirations? JT: As a pianist, I’ve experienced divine moments with Rachmaninoff ’s music at my fingertips. But before that, my parents filled my life with music, including hymns, Jamaican folk tunes, and gospel songs. They encouraged a hunger for discovery that lead to my love for Bach, Mozart, Ravel, Stravinsky, Barber, Bernstein, Sondheim, Robert Glasper, Snarky Puppy, Esperanza Spalding, Caetano Veloso, Kendrick Lamar, and of course, Rachmaninoff. QN: What excites you most about expanding this work for full orchestra and choir?
JT: I feel as though I’ve been given the opportunity to transfer a miniature charcoal sketch to a wall ¬length canvas with vibrant oils. I’m excited about the challenge of capturing the emotions in more vivid detail without destroying the intimacy and humanness of the original. My aim is to stay out of the way of the music and let the voices of the victims be heard once again in this orchestration. Above all, I’m excited to learn and grow and share. QN: What do you hope to convey in this piece/arrangement and how does that compare to how you feel when writing the piece? JT: When I wrote this piece in the winter of 2014, I felt heavy with grief and the realization that I live in a society in which these injustices still happen. In writing, I was trying to get the pain out. Even more deaths of unarmed men and women have occurred since the piece’s conception, and one glimpse at any news channel portrays a country even more divided and unwilling to listen. I hope that this orchestration will ask each of us to open our eyes and see
Q & A with Joel Thompsonthe sickening hierarchy of value of life based on gender, race, sexuality, religion, otherness. I hope this piece inspires, for each listener, an internal revolution that will lead to an external one. QN: What advice would you give young composers? JT: As a young composer myself, I don’t feel qualified to answer this question, but I can share some lessons I have learned so far: Realize that the art you’ve dedicated your life to has the power to transform you and the community with whom you share it. That realization inspires a passion for improving every aspect of the craft and a desire to collaborate and learn from other artists. Stand in front of a painting, see a modern dance showcase, listen to music you don’t understand, read, question yourself, believe in yourself, and then write. I know my philosophy will change and grow, but right now, I acknowledge the transformational power of art and each day I get to experience it is a blessing. I strongly encourage my fellow composers to do the same.
