(orchestral music) - [Narrator] Support for this program is provided by the DTE Foundation, a proud presenter of the Sphinx Competition.

The DTE Foundation congratulates the Sphinx Organization and supports their work to transform lives and communities.

And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

(orchestral music) - I just love what Sphinx does, love what they do in communities with education.

It's just been great to be a part of this amazing group of people.

- The Sphinx Organization has been very important for me.

I received so many opportunities, so it's been really integral to me as a musician and to my career.

- Sphinx is truly a family, and it's amazing to have this support.

I feel like that's very special and unique.

(audience cheering) (violin music) - My name is Brendon Elliott.

I am 30 years old, and I'm from Newport News, Virginia.

I play the violin, and I've been playing for 27 years.

When I was 15 years old, we heard about the Sphinx Competition, and I had done very well at the local competitions in Virginia for some time.

So we thought, you know, I should try my hand at a national competition.

But I was just really excited to see people that look like me and what we've been working on for our whole lives, so here I am.

The piece I'll be performing is the Coleridge-Taylor "Violin Concerto."

It is a romantic violin concerto heavily inspired by some of the great violin concertos of the 19th century.

The Sphinx Organization has been very important for me as a violinist and someone who's able to participate in the competition.

I received so many opportunities to go to summer festivals and meet so many other young musicians, and they also helped me update my instrument.

So it's been really integral to me as a musician and to my career.

Playing with the Sphinx Symphony is kind of like a homecoming for me.

I played with them alongside other finalists in the past, and I've known them for many, many years, some of the musicians, so I imagine that it's just going to feel like I'm home in a way.

I hope I'm able to give more concerts like this one and share my love of music with other people.

I think that's where the enjoyment really lies for me.

(orchestral music) (audience cheering and applauding) (violin music) - My name is Paul Aguilar.

I'm 28 years old, and I currently am based in Houston, Texas.

I grew up in a difficult situation with my family as far as finances, and really, I have no reason logically that I would be in music, and it was the result of, you know, of course, my family and incredible individuals and organizations throughout my upbringing that stepped in and helped me every Step of the way with instruments, with scholarships, with lessons.

And so every chance I can to give back and to start people as young as possible on the incredible path that they could be on in music is what I want to do, especially because of my own experience.

And so the Sphinx Organization doing that in a very systemic way is incredibly inspiring and uplifting, (orchestral music) and it's something that I want to support any way I can and be a part of.

I grew up playing the violin.

(violin music) I started when I was five.

My sister was my first teacher.

And more recently, I've now begun playing viola.

I play viola in Houston Symphony, and it's just been a great experience.

(violin music) I've been involved with the Sphinx Organization over the years.

I've been at the conference a couple times.

I've played in the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra.

I was very lucky to be a recipient (violin music) of one of their MPower grants.

I just love what Sphinx does, love what they do in communities with education, and so it's just been great to be a part of this amazing group of people.

(orchestral music) So the piece I will be playing in the finals concert is the third movement of the Colberg "Viola Concerto."

And Christian Colberg is an incredible violist, violinist actually, from his training, and he's the principal violist of the Cincinnati Symphony.

And I absolutely love this piece.

I am so excited to play it.

What a treat to play it with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra.

It is just so fun.

Raw energy, dancing, grooving, it is just fantastic.

It also has incredibly gorgeous melodies in it, and so I'm just gonna have a blast.

(violin music) (orchestral music) (audience cheering and applauding) (violin music) - I'm Gabriela Lara.

I'm 24, and I'm from Venezuela.

I play the violin, and I've been playing it since I was six years old.

I'm kind of like a shy person, and words sometimes don't work as much.

And I think one of the things I love about the violin or like playing an instrument in general, is that I can express myself in my truest form.

And I feel like just being able to share playing with people, but also playing for people, it's just a feeling that doesn't compare to anything else.

One of the things that motivates me the most and that I have found more inspiration from are my friends and my teachers.

I have found that the people closest to me, it's easier to find that inspiration and just keep nurturing each other and kind of competing, but a good competition against each other.

(orchestral music) I'll be performing the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor "Violin Concerto in G Minor."

The first movement, I feel like it has everything you would want in a concerto.

You have this expressive and beautiful melodies, but you also have rhetoric passages and rhythmic passages.

I really like that how when I play it, I feel very powerful.

And by the end, it's like I'm on top of a mountain.

This is my first time doing the conference here in Detroit, and what I've noticed is that Sphinx is truly a family.

(audience cheering) And it's amazing to be a musician and to have this support since you start playing and then high school, college, and then even after in your professional career.

(violin music) I feel like that's very special and unique.

I recently got a job at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and next week is actually my first week, so I'm very excited about that.

I just want to enjoy playing music at the highest level and enjoy while doing it, too.

(orchestral music) (audience cheering and applauding) (audience applauding) - [Announcer] And now, please welcome Afa Dworkin, President and Artistic Director of the Sphinx Organization.

(audience cheering and applauding) - Good evening and thank you for joining us on this iconic stage for the 28th Annual Sphinx Competition Finals Concert.

We are honored to celebrate the talent and commitment to excellence exhibited by each of the young artists you heard tonight and every member of this one-of-a-kind orchestra.

Yes.

(audience applauding) The brilliant young artists you heard tonight have been competing for more than $100,000 in prizes and the top $50,000 Robert Frederick Smith prize, along with scholarships and performance opportunities around the country and beyond.

I also want to recognize our esteemed jury panel.

Danielle Belen, Melissa White, Joseph Conyers, Charlotte Lee, Joshua Roman, Abson Gupta, and Mark Wilson.

We honor and treasure your hard work and expertise.

(audience cheering and applauding) You know, just a couple of hours ago, we finished our global convening SphinxConnect, bringing together 1,200 of our artists, leaders, and practitioners dedicated to building a vibrant future for our sector.

- [Audience Member] Yeah!

- Yes.

(audience applauding) Our theme this year was ignite.

The very best minds in our entire field got together to share their vision for the future and to find a spark of inspiration right here in our city.

Sphinx's work, now reaching more than 100 million worldwide, is about evolving the canon of American concert music, which now resonates in dozens of communities across the nation, as well as internationally.

It is also about lifting every deserving voice, from the youngest members of our family in Detroit's elementary schools to nearly 1,300 artists and composers who are building a legacy of excellence on stages worldwide.

So I ask each of you, our audience members, to help us build that legacy.

You can make sure that the names of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Christian Colberg, and Levi Taylor help define the identity of American concert music.

You can do so by listening, sharing their music with those you love, and remembering what you heard here tonight.

It takes a village to change narratives.

Together, let us work to build that village.

And now.

(audience applauding) And now, the moment we've all been waiting for, the results of our jury's decision.

Please join me in welcoming to the stage all three of our laureates, Brendon Elliott, Paul Aguilar, and Gabriela Lara.

They are accompanied by our Chief Programming Officer, Andre Dowell.

(audience cheering) Yes.

(chuckles) Yes.

And tonight's distinguished award presenter, Rodney Cole, President of the DTE Foundation, and Member of Sphinx's Board of Directors.

(audience cheering and applauding) - All right.

Good evening, everyone.

- [Audience] Good evening.

- I need more than that.

Good evening, everyone!

This is a celebration!

(audience cheering) Thank you all for joining us.

As president of the DTE Energy Foundation and a member of the Sphinx Organization Board, I'm honored to be here with you today at the 2025 Sphinx Competition Finals Concert.

The philanthropic work we do at the DTE Energy Foundation creates a lasting impact in the communities where we live and serve, and one of the key pillars that we support is arts and culture.

So this evening we had the opportunity to experience three very talented artists along with a very, very talented orchestra.

Wouldn't you all agree?

(audience cheering and applauding) Well, talent like this needs to be nurtured and developed.

And that great work needs support.

And with that, we'll get started with the presentation of the Audience Choice Award of $5,000 in the 28th Annual Sphinx Competition Senior Division.

And the winner is Paul Aguilar.

(audience cheering and applauding) The winner of the third place award of $10,000 in the 28th Annual Sphinx Competition Senior Division is, Brendon Elliot.

(audience cheering and applauding) The winner of the second place award of $20,000 in the 28th Annual Sphinx Competition Senior Division is, Paul Aguilar.

(audience cheering and applauding) And finally, our first place winner.

(audience member shouts in foreign language) (audience cheering and applauding) - The winner of the Robert Frederick Smith Prize of $50,000.

(audience cheering) The 28th Annual Sphinx Competition Senior Division is, no surprise, Gabriela Lara.

(audience cheering and applauding) - Congratulations to all of our laureates.

Thank you to Rodney and Andre.

(audience cheering and applauding) It is now my tremendous honor to invite back to the stage Maestra Lina Gonzalez-Granados for a closing piece of "Daydreaming" by Levi Taylor.

(audience cheering and applauding) (orchestral music) (audience cheering and applauding) (orchestral music) - [Narrator] Support for this program is provided by the DTE Foundation, a proud presenter of the Sphinx Competition.

The DTE Foundation congratulates the Sphinx Organization and supports their work to transform lives and communities.

And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

(orchestral music)