12 Latino and Black Musicians Changing the Face of Classical Music

*Keep the tab open. Come back to it throughout the day as you take work breaks. Listen to these wonderful young musicians. VL

By Lisa Bernier, Policy Mic

Let’s be honest, the field of classical music isn’t exactly diverse. Long dominated by, well, white people, even modern orchestras aren’t exactly a great representation of our population. Only 4% of American orchestras are African American or Latino (though Asian demographics are admittedly on the rise). Major classical composers are, let’s face it, basically all white European men (Mozart, Beethoven, Bach). Similarly, classical music audiences tend to be older, Caucasian and nearly dead. It’s not looking great.

But the Sphinx Organization and its annual competition is looking to change all that. Open to only young black or Latino classical musicians, the competition and its founding organization’s mission is “transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts” and through a whole lot of funding to people who can’t normally access classical music. The organization provides needed resoures to aspiring young musicians. With quality instruments costing thousands of dollars, and tuition at major conservatories even more, it’s a hard career to try breaking into.

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo courtesy of Sphinx, Kevin Kennedy]

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