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GPAC PRESENTS THE SPHINX CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
9/02/08

 

Germantown Performing Arts Centre

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 2, 2008

 

GPAC PRESENTS THE SPHINX CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

 

In partnership with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Germantown Performing Arts Centre will present The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra and Harlem Quartet on Tuesday, October 7 at 7 p.m. 

 

These dynamic ensembles are made up of young African American and Hispanic classical musicians, all winners of the national Sphinx talent competition, and sponsored by the Sphinx Organization, which has worked since 1996 to overcome the cultural stereotype of classical music.  The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra garnered rave reviews from the New York Times for their Carnegie Hall performances and the Harlem Quartet has appeared at Carnegie Hall and on the Today show.  Most of the Sphinx Orchestra alumni now have solo careers or perform with symphony orchestras around the country.

 

WHO:              The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra and Harlem Quartet

 

WHEN:             Tuesday, October 7, 7 p.m.

 

TICKETS:         Single tickets are$30, $35, and $45, plus handling fee, and are available now by calling (901) 751-7500 or online at www.GPACweb.com.

 

Box Office Hours: Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. or noon the day of performance. All major credit cards accepted.

 

WHERE:           Germantown Performing Arts Centre

                        1801 Exeter Road

                        Germantown, TN 38138

 

CONTACT:       For more information or to arrange an interview with the artist(s), please contact Carrie Corbett at (901) 751-7501 or carrie@gpacweb.com.

 

IMAGES:         See attached

 

ARTIST WEB: www.sphinxmusic.org/programs/symphony.html

 

 ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

 

SPHINX CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an ensemble comprised of the top alumni of the national Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latino string players.  This unique group earned rave reviews from the New York Times in December of 2004, during its highly acclaimed debut at Carnegie Hall.  Allan Kozinn of the Times described their performances as "first-rate in every way" and the ensemble to have "produced a more beautiful, precise and carefully shaped sound than some fully professional orchestras that come through Carnegie Hall in the course of the year". SCO returned to Carnegie Hall in 2006 and 2007, to present two additional outstanding programs to a fully sold-out hall of over 2,800, earning further praise from the New York Times for each of the performances.

 

SCO works to advance diversity in classical music while engaging young and new audiences through performances of varied repertoire.  They per­form masterpieces by Bach, Vivaldi and Mozart, alongside the more seldom presented works by composers of color, including Coleridge-Taylor Perkin­son, George Walker, Michael Abels and Astor Piazzolla.

 

Members of SCO have completed and continue to pursue their studies at the nations top music schools, including the Juilliard, Curtis, Eastman, Peabody, Harvard, and the University of Michigan.  Additionally, several members hold professional orchestral positions, including the Oregon, Grand Rapids and San Antonio Symphonies.  Members of the roster have been named Laureates of other prestigious international competitions, including Queen Elizabeth and Yehudi Menuhin.  Finally, a number of SCO members have appeared as soloists with major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, Pittsburgh and others.

 

SCO is scheduled to return to Carnegie Hall in October 2008, and is looking forward to presenting another vibrant program at the legendary venue.

 

 

THE HARLEM QUARTET

Comprised of First-Place Laureates of the Sphinx Competition, the Harlem Quartet has a unique and chal­lenging mission: to advance diversity in classical music while engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire, highlighting works by minority composers.

 

Dedicated to education and community engagement as well as to superb classical performance, this innovative and daring all-Black and Latino string quartet serves as principal faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts, one of the premier independent arts prep schools in the world, and as visiting faculty at the Sphinx Prepara­tory Music Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit.

 

The Harlem Quartet made their acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut in the fall of 2006 at the Sphinx Organization's 10th anniversary gala at Carnegie Hall, earning rave reviews from The New York Times. A month later they debuted at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem, this time with a well-received performance of Wynton Marsalis's At the Octoroon Balls. They returned to

 

Carnegie in late Janu­ary 2007 as participants in Arts Presenters' prestigious and highly competitive Young Performers Career Advancement (YPCA) program.  Most recently, they performed Michael Abels' Delights and Dances in addition to other selections at Carnegie Hall to a sold-out audience of over 2,800.  To sec­ond the words of Vivien Schweitzer of the New York Times, the ensemble "played with panache".

 

In addition to being avid chamber musicians, each member of the Harlem Quartet is a seasoned solo artist, having ap­peared with the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Sinaloa de las Artes (Mexico) and Balti­more symphonies and the Boston Pops, among others. As a quartet, they have performed in many communities across the country including Detroit, New York, Atlanta and Boston, and have been featured on WNBC and The Today Show. The release of their second CD is scheduled in 2008.

 

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