Violinist Njioma Chinyere Grevious & Cellist Brandon Leonard Win 2023 Sphinx Competition

Sphinx Organization, the largest and longest-standing organization dedicated to diversity and inclusion in classical music, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, anchored by the annual Sphinx Competition in Detroit, MI, which took place January 26-28, 2023 in the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.

After performing the first movement of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Concerto for Violin in G minor, violinist Njioma Chinyere Grevious was named the First Prize winner of the 2023 Senior Division Finals, receiving the $50,000 Robert Frederick Smith Prize and a number of solo appearances with major orchestras, as well as the $5,000 Audience Choice Prize. Second place in the Senior Division and $20,000 was given to Chicago-based violinist Alejandra Switala, a student of Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank, while third place and $10,000 went to Philadelphia-based violist Dillon Scott, a student of Edward Gazouleas and Roberto Diaz.

As the first prize winner of the 2023 Sphinx Competition Junior Finals, cellist Brandon Leonard will receive $10,000, multiple solo appearances with major orchestras, and a nationally-broadcast radio appearance on NPR's From the Top. Second prize went to 16-year-old Wilmington, Delaware-based violinist Gabriela Salvador Riera, a student of Shelley Beard, who received $5,000, while third prize and $3,000 went to 17-year-old San Antonio, Texas-based cellist Vincent Garcia-Hettinger, a student of Kenneth Freudigman.

All junior and senior division finalists performed with Panamanian-American conductor Kalena Bovell and the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, the all-Black and Latinx orchestra comprised of top professionals from around the country. The 2023 competition jury comprised Joseph Conyers, Zuill Bailey, Juan-Miguel Hernandez, Patrice Jackson, Jennifer Koh, Michael Kondziolka, and Erik Ronmark.

The Sphinx Competition is a national competition offering young Black and Latinx classical string players a chance to compete under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of judges and to perform with and receive mentorship from established professional musicians. Finalists in both the Junior (Ages 17 and under) and Senior (Ages 18-30) divisions have the opportunity to perform with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and compete for a total of nearly $100,000 in prizes, including the top Robert Frederick Smith Prize. All semi-finalists and finalists have access to scholarships and fine instruments through the Sphinx Music Assistance Fund. Former laureates of the Sphinx Competition include artists such as Joseph Conyers, Patrice Jackson, Sterling Elliott, Randall Goosby, Tai Murray, and Elena Urioste, all of whom have gone on to major orchestral and solo careers.

About Njioma Chinyere Grevious

A graduate of The Juilliard School, where she was awarded the John Erskine Prize, Njioma Chinyere Grevious received the Music Academy of the West Keston-Max Fellowship to study and perform with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2022.

As a member of the Abeo Quartet, Njioma won top prizes at the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition, and Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Finalists in the 2021 Young Concert Artists competition, the quartet is currently the inaugural Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the University of Delaware under the mentorship of the Calidore Quartet.

Njioma's principal teachers have included Ronald Copes, James Buswell, Mariana Green-Hill, and Farhoud Moshfegh. She has participated in festivals including Music@Menlo, Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Montreal International String Quartet Academy, Meadowmount, Fontainebleau Schools, and Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Learn more at www.njiomagrevious.com.

About Brandon Leonard

Hailing from Stone Mountain, Georgia, Brandon Leonard started playing the cello in the fourth grade at Kittredge Magnet School in Atlanta. A current member of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra (ASYO), he studies music with Karen Freer at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Talent Development Program

Brandon has won prizes at the Georgia Philharmonic Samuel Fordis Young Artists Competition, Hilton Head Concerto Competition, and Center Stage Strings Young Artist Solo Competition. In 2020, he won 2nd prize in the Sphinx Competition Junior Division.

A current student at Chamblee Charter High School, he has participated in the Atlanta Chamber Music Festival, the Tanglewood Junior Strings Intensive program, and the Center Stage Strings program at the University of Michigan. He has also served as the principal cellist of the Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) All State Orchestra and as the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO). Learn more at www.aso.org/artists/detail/brandon-leonard.

About Sphinx Organization

The Sphinx Organization is the social justice organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Sphinx's four program areas - Education & Access, Artist Development, Performing Artists, and Arts Leadership - form a pipeline that develops and supports diversity and inclusion in classical music at every level: music education, artists performing on stage, the repertoire and programming being performed, the communities represented in audiences, and the artistic and administrative leadership within the field. Sphinx programs reach more than 100,000 students and artists, as well as live and broadcast audiences of more than two million annually.

Sphinx began in 1997 as a singular initiative: the Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latinx string players. The goal of founder, violinist Aaron Dworkin, was to identify, empower, and support talented young artists and prepare them for professional careers in classical music. Over the past 25 years, Sphinx has grown from a single program to a movement that promotes artistic excellence and inclusion across the sector, through year-round tuition-free education and creative youth development; 4 premier ensembles and a robust roster of soloists; commissioning and performing new works by Black and Latinx composers; administrative leadership, cultural innovation, and entrepreneurship programs; and sector-wide partnerships with 300+ organizations to serve the field and bring programming to scale. The organization is now led by Afa S. Dworkin, its long-time Artistic Director, as well as 10 full-time staff members, 50+ teaching artists and seasonal teams, 1,000 alumni, more than $10 million invested in Black and Latinx musicians through artist grants and scholarships, and 2 million annual audiences.

Read more about Sphinx's programs at www.SphinxMusic.org.

View the "Sphinx Organization: A 25-year Journey" timeline here.

Photo Credit: Craig Gorkiewicz (Pictured L-R: Njioma Chinyere Grevious, Brandon Leonard).