Phoenix Symphony Principal Clarinet Alexander Laing is one of three 2018 recipients of the Sphinx Organization’s Medals of Excellence. The Sphinx Organization is a Detroit-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting diversity in classical music, and the Sphinx Medals of Excellence program annually honors three emerging classical artists of color. Laing and the other two 2018 winners—mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges and Colombian-American cellist Christine Lamprea—will each receive a $50,000 career grant. On March 21, 2018, Sphinx will honor the three artists at the Sphinx Medals of Excellence luncheon, and honorees will be celebrated at a black-tie private dinner in Washington, D.C. Laing serves on the board of the Arizona School for the Arts, on the artistic and strategic planning committees for Gateways Music Festival, and co-chairs the League of American Orchestras’ Organizational Readiness Diversity Task Force. In 2015, he launched The Leading Tone, a nonprofit afterschool music program in Phoenix.
Posted September 19, 2017
