Carnegie Hall

The Sphinx Virtuosi is a dynamic and inspiring professional, self-conducted chamber orchestra that serves as the flagship performing entity of the Sphinx Organization. The Sphinx Virtuosi comprises 18 accomplished Black and Latine artists, with the aim to evolve and transform the face of classical music through artistic excellence, pioneering programming, and impassioned community engagement. Its members serve as cultural and diversity ambassadors for audiences and communities around the US during national tours.

Since 2004, the Sphinx Virtuosi has been presented by the leading arts organizations. Heralded for its kaleidoscopic repertoire and bold thematic programming, its concerts put in a place of prominence historically excluded Black and Latine composers such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Alberto Ginastera, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Florence Price, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and George Walker. In an effort to expand its repertoire and engage new audiences, the ensemble makes annual commissions, including major new works from Michael Abels, Terence Blanchard, Valerie Coleman, Xavier Foley, Jimmy López, Jessie Montgomery, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Carlos Simon.

Members of the Sphinx Virtuosi have performed as soloists with major American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The Sphinx Virtuosi’s community engagement initiatives regularly extend beyond master classes and workshops to leading diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within arts organizations and connecting with other Sphinx programming to further the mission of achieving excellence through diversity. As a bilingual ensemble, these artist-citizens frequently break down existing barriers empowering the art form to connect with the broader community.

The Sphinx Virtuosi has collaborated with major artists such as Terence Blanchard, Denyce Graves, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Damien Sneed, Will Liverman, J’Nai Bridges, and Davóne Tines, among others. Outside of the realm of classical music, its musicians have also worked with leading international artists such as Beyoncé and JAY-Z, and made high-profile appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and the 2022 Grammy Awards. This month, the ensemble makes its international debut at the Sala São Paulo in Brazil.

Winner of the first prize and the audience choice award at the 24th Annual Sphinx Competition, violinist Amaryn Olmeda is a rising star sought after for her bold and expressive performances as a soloist and collaborator. In the 2021–2022 season, she debuted as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Stockton Symphony, Auburn Symphony Orchestra, and Classical Tahoe. She was also named the first member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) and Opus 3 Artists Young Artist Program.

In 2020, Ms. Olmeda was featured as the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra Debut Artist at its New Year’s Concert Series, which earned her a nomination for the San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards. In recent seasons, she performed as a soloist with the Music in the Mountains Orchestra, Merced Symphony, and Solano Symphony. She was also a featured musician at the McAllister Honors Recital at the Colburn School in Los Angeles and with the Sacramento Philharmonic and VITA Academy.

Ms. Olmeda was selected to be an NPR From the Top fellow. She was named a Young Artist Soloist by the Seattle Symphony and received first prize in the Auburn Symphony Young Artists and Music in the Mountains Young Musicians competitions, as well at many other competitions around the country.

First-prize winner of the 2015 Sphinx Competition, Hannah White has performed extensively throughout the US. She has toured to many countries in Europe and to Australia. Beginning her violin studies at age seven, she performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra by age nine. Since then, she has been a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall and performed with The Cleveland Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Madison Symphony Orchestra, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Symphoria Orchestra, Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Noir, Dexter Symphony Orchestra, and Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. White has won dozens of competitions at local, national, and international levels. She has participated in multiple tours with Sphinx Virtuosi as a soloist and with Chineke! Chamber Ensemble. She is currently concertmaster of Kontrapunktus Chamber Orchestra and is on the roster of the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Recital Series. She is pursuing her graduate studies with Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School.

Tommy Mesa, a Cuban American cellist, has established himself as one of the most charismatic, innovative, and engaging performers of his generation. He was the Robert Frederick Smith Prize winner of the 2016 Sphinx Competition and winner of the Astral Artists 2017 National Auditions. He has appeared as soloist at the Supreme Court of the United States on three occasions and with major orchestras, including The Cleveland Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and Santa Barbara Symphony.

Highlights include curating and performing chamber music programs with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, as soloist with the Sphinx Virtuosi touring to major venues across the US, and a recital tour with duo partner and pianist Ilya Yakushev. These tours include appearances at such venues as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Colburn School, and Kohler Foundation.

Xavier Foley is known for communicating his virtuosity and passion for music on the bass, which is rarely presented as a solo instrument. He is a first-prize winner of the 2016 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, winner of the 2014 Sphinx Competition, and a 2018 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant. He has performed recitals at Shriver Hall, Rockport Music, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, National Gallery of Art, and Harriman-Jewell Series. An avid chamber musician, he has been presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Marlboro Music Festival, Tippet Rise Music Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, and Skaneateles Festival.

A composer in high demand, Mr. Foley wrote For Justice and Peace, which was premiered by the Sphinx Organization at Carnegie Hall in October 2019. It has since been performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, New West Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. His bass concerto Soul Bass, commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, was premiered by the orchestra in March 2022 and will be performed again this season with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Jonathon Heyward.

Upcoming commissions include Santa Fe Pro Musica, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in conjunction with the Mahler Foundation, Chicago Symphony Orchestra MusicNOW, and Oregon Symphony, where he has been named artist-in-residence for the next three seasons.