The Score | White House Honors

In November, the Sphinx Organization was honored at the White House as one of twelve winners of the 2016 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. Sphinx—founded in Detroit in 1997 by violinist Aaron Dworkin and currently under the leadership of Afa S. Dworkin, Sphinx president and artistic director—works to get children from underserved communities into classical music through free afterschool music instruction, an annual conference addressing diversity issues in the performing arts, and a competition for young African American and Latino string players. Pictured below, First Lady Michelle Obama addresses young musicians of the Sphinx Perfect Fourth String Quartet: Aidan Daniels, Maxwell Fairman, Peirce Ellis, and Nicholas Reeves, who performed at the White House ceremony. The annual National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards recognize “outstanding after-school and out-of-school programs that are transforming the lives of young people.”