User:Searsjm/Sphinx Organization

Founded by Aaron P. Dworkin, The Sphinx Organization is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of young Black and Latino classical musicians. The sphinx represents the historical and geographical source for many minorities and exemplifies the power, wisdom and persistence that the organization hope to instill in its participants. For this reason the organization chose to named itself after the sphinx.

History
At 25 years of age, Aaron Dworkin began to sphinx competition. While he was immediately met with skepticism from his violin teacher and the dean of the University of Michigan School of Music, his passion about the endeavor won them over. He was allotted $40,000 over the course of three years from the dean, Dr. Paul Boylan and gained grant money from other organizations including Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Ford Motor Co., Masco Corp., and the Wolfensohn Family Foundation. In January of 2010 the Sphinx Competition celebrated its 13th year. Since the start of the first annual competition, Sphinx has also begun a number of other programs to help the growth of minority involvement in classical music.

Music Ensembles
There have been multiple groups formed out of the Sphinx Organization. The organization itself as an orchestra known as the Sphinx Symphony. Other groups created by the Sphinx Organization are: Catalyst Quartet, Harlem Quartet, and Sphinx Chamber Orchestra. The Sphinx Symphony is comprised of Black and Latino professional players and teachers from around the country. The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra allows Black and Latino musicians a chance to tour and classical music at a professional level. The Catalyst Quartet is formed by Sphinx Competition top laureates and the Harlem Quartet has all first place winners of the competition.

Annual Sphinx Competition
The Annual Sphinx Competition began in 1997. The Sphinx Competition offers young Black and Latino classical string players a chance to compete under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of judges and to perform with established professional musicians in a competition setting. Selected from a national pool of applicants, 18 Semi-finalists will travel to Detroit and Ann Arbor for five days of competition. Prizes include over $100,000 in scholarships and cash prizes, as well as solo performances with major orchestras nationwide and a performance on National Public Radio’s From the Top. Many of the past laureates have gone on to either study at very prestigious schools or began careers in solo or orchestra playing. Notable judges include Anthony Elliot, Sandford Allen, Atar Arad, Paul Katz, Kim Kashkashian.

Outreach Programs
The Sphinx Organization is known not only for its annual competition producing the worlds leading minority musicians of today, but for the education it has provided across the United States as well. Its outreach programs are free, non-profit programs aimed at developing interest and education towards classical music in urban under served areas in the United States. These programs include: Musical Encounters, School Dayz, Sphinx Preparatory Institute, Sphinx Performance Academy, and Sphinx Journeys. Musical Encounters allows just as its name suggest, a chance for children to encounter the instruments of the orchestra and learn more about them within a school. School Dayz is a program in which the Harlem Quartet visits various schools in New York and exposure the children of elementary schools to classical music through performance. The Sphinx Preparatory Institute is a program offering Saturday classes to Detroit students in music history, theory and instrumental performance. It Serves string, woodwind, brass, percussion and piano instrumentalists, ages 11-18 and is designed to address the needs of students in pursuit of music studies at beginning and intermediate levels who lack access to good training. The Sphinx Performance Academy is a music festival held by the Sphinx Organization where Black and Latino students ages 12-17 have the opportunity to study under the Harlem Quartet and other sphinx competition alumni. During their time at the Academy the students receive both private and masterclass instruction in chamber and solo music. Sphinx Journeys is a program that Aaron Dworkin himself host. It is a radio show which he uses to introduce and recount classical music produced by Black and Latino musicians. This program can be heard on WRCJ 90.9 FM in Detroit, Michigan.

Finances
While the Sphinx Organization began with a more than modest start financially, it has risen to a very well managed and stable organization over the years. Within the years of 2006-2008 80 percent of the organization's expenses have been related to the program itself. Only about 7 percent of it had gone to administrative costs and 10 to fund raising. The growth did however vary quite a bit from year to year. While in 2006 primary revenue was 16.6 percent and rose to 34.2 percent the next year, in 2008 it had fallen dramatically to -15.2%. This unfortunate drop was due to 1 million dollars lost in contributions. All the while the organization's expenses were rising from 27 percent in 2006 to 35.8 percent in 2008. Even with these hardships however, Sphinx was doing well with net assets over 3 million in 2008.