Speakers
Each year, SphinxConnect welcomes 90+ luminaries and trailblazers from across the classical music industry to lead conversations related to everything from programming to fundraising; all through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Speakers will be invited throughout the summer and fall, so we encourage you to visit this page often for updates and check out some past session highlights below!
2024 Plenary Speakers
Opening Plenary
Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson
Chair | National Endowment for the Arts
Aaron P. Dworkin
Poetjournalist/Founder/Professor of Arts Leadership & Entrepreneurship | Sphinx Organization/Institute for Poetjournalism/University of Michigan
Closing Plenary
Arturo O'Farrill
Composer/Pianist/Educator | Belongó/UCLA
Jenn White
Host, 1A | WAMU & NPR
Opening Plenary Performance by Jesse Hubbs
Jesse Hubbs is a sixteen-year-old classical pianist. He was introduced to the piano when he was five years old, and began playing it as his primary instrument at the age of nine. Jesse currently studies piano at The Juilliard School Pre-College in New York, under the tutelage of Orli Shaham.
In 2018, he received a perfect score on the highest-level New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) piano exam. Jesse was one of 13 pianists, chosen from 113 statewide, to perform at the NYSSMA piano showcase - and at age eleven, was the youngest to do so. The following year, he earned a silver medal at Steinway and Son’s Piano Competitions held at Steinway Hall in New York City.
He has been featured in major media outlets including CBS, NBC, and Newsday. His appearance on NBC-NY’s Beck’s Best Kids was recognized at the time as the most successful debut of a social media program for the channel. Jesse is a From the Top Fellow and has performed at various events for the Sphinx Organization.
In addition to piano, Jesse also plays the cello and was a member of his school’s chamber orchestra for three years. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, playing tennis, composing, and photography.
2024 Speakers
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Jennifer Arnold
Violist & Consultant
Black Orchestral Network | Richmond Symphony | Cleveland Institute of Music -
Roberto Arruda
Director of International Student Services and Study Abroad
Berklee College of Music -
Melanie Bacaling
Opera Director
The Met Opera -
Christina M. Baker
Sr. Director of Artist Management
Young Concert Artists -
Lydia Bangura
Soprano
University of Michigan -
Dr. Lisa "Osunleti" Beckley-Roberts
Chair & Associate Professor
Jackson State University -
Aubrey Bergauer
CEO
Changing the Narrative -
Francisco Joubert Bernard
Bassoonist
Louisville Orchestra | University of Louisville -
Jenny Bilfield
President & CEO
Washington Performing Arts -
Jennifer Bowman
Director of Community & Learning
Houston Grand Opera -
Dale Breidenthal
Violinist
LA Philharmonic -
Maria Pia Bucco
Music Educator & Performer
Sphinx Organization -
Torrance Buntyn Jr.
Percussionist | Timpanist | Educator | Arts Administrator | DEI Advocate
Southern Methodist University - Meadows School of the Arts -
Brittney Bryanna Burgess
Program Coordinator
Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging | The Juilliard School -
Armando Castellano
Artistic Director | French Horn
Quinteto Latino -
Dr. Maria Fernanda Castillo
Flutist | Musicologist | Entrepreneur
Latin American Music Initiative | University of Tennessee Knoxville -
Scott Cecil
Director
Prohibited Media -
Horacio Contreras
Associate Professor of Cello | Cello Faculty
University of North Texas | Music Institute of Chicago
Photo Credit: Natali Herrera-Pacheco -
Freddy Contreras
Associate Artistic Director
Trenton Music Makers | Capital Harmony Works -
Joseph Conyers
Principal Bass
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Photo Credit: Nicole Roche -
Lydia Connolly
Senior Director, Artist Management, Head of Inclusion and Access
Harrison Parrott -
Karen Cueva
Head of Operations
The Lewis Prize for Music -
DeAnna Cummings
Program Director
McKnight Foundation -
Antonio C. Cuyler, Ph.D.
Professor | Principal Consultant
University of Michigan | Cuyler Consulting, LLC -
DuMarkus Davis
Founder & CEO
Musicbuk -
Jordyn Davis
Composer | Bassist | Educator
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Camille Delaney-McNeil
Director, YOLA/Beckmen YOLA Center
LA Phil -
Angelica "Angie" Durrell
Founder & CEO
INTEMPO -
Achia Floyd
Director of Foundation Relations and Community
Sphinx Organization -
Drew Alexander Forde
Entrepreneur | Violist | Content Creator
Whole Soul Music LLC -
Anna Galura Summers
Artistic Administrator | Violinist
The Phoenix Symphony -
Carlos García León
Individual Giving Manager
Chicago Shakespeare Theater -
Brianna Garcon
Program Coordinator | National Community Partnerships
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts -
Brian Taylor Goldstein
Arts & Entertainment Attorney
GG Arts Law -
Gladys Gonzalez
Music Director | Educator
Hattiesburg Kids Orchestra -
Naomi Gonzalez
Chief Education & Community Engagement Officer, VP
Mann Center for the Performing Arts -
Randall Goosby
Violinist
Photo Credit: Kaupo Kikkas -
Dr. Benjamin Grube
Director of Orchestras | Violinist
Texas Southern University -
Joy Guidry
Bassoonist | Composer | Performance Artist
Photo Credit: Nykelle Devivo -
Arreon A. Harley-Emerson
President & CEO
Equity Sings -
Li(sa E.) Harris
Interdisciplinary Artist/Composer/Founder
Studio Enertia -
Lane Harwell
Program Officer
Ford Foundation -
Fredara Mareva Hadley
Ethnomusicologist
The Juilliard School -
Carolina Heredia
Director of Programs
American Composers Forum -
Dr. Lori Hicks
Director of Opera
UNC Chapel Hill -
Devin Hinzo
Artistic Administrator
Cal Performances | UC Berkeley -
Adriane Jefferson
Director of Arts, Culture and Tourism
City of New Haven -
Byron G. Johnson
Director, Global Programs | Associate Professor of Music
Alcorn State University -
Terell Johnson
Executive Director
Chicago Philharmonic -
Calida N. Jones
Founder | Co-Founder
CNJ Associates | Creative Evolutions -
Taneshia Nash Laird
President & CEO
Greater Roxbury Arts & Cultural Center -
Anjali Lalani
Interns and Fellows Program Administrator
National Museum of African American History and Culture -
Charlotte Lee
President and Founder
Primo Artists -
Edward Lewis
President & CEO
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
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Dr. Charles Lwanga
Assistant Professor of Music (Ethnomusicology)
University of Michigan -
Nexus
DEI Specialist
Dear Nexus -
Richard Lonsdorf
Executive Director
New Century Chamber Orchestra -
Thomas Mesa
Cello Soloist
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Shantanique Moore
Flutist
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James A. Muhammad
President
Classical California -
Melissa Muñoz
Trumpeter, Program Manager, Educator
Kaufman Music Center -
Brandon Neal
Producer, Creative Enterprise, Office of the President
The Juilliard School -
David A. Norville
Oboist | Media Producer
WQXR | WNYC -
Shawn Okpebholo
Composer | Professor
Wheaton College Conservatory of Music -
Gary Padmore
Vice President, Education and Community Engagement
New York Philharmonic -
Dr. Seth Parker Woods
Cellist | Educator | Curator
USC Thornton School of Music -
Tom Poster
Pianist | Founder
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Photo Credit: Elena Urioste -
Angelique Power
President & CEO
The Skillman Foundation -
Alexis V. Prescott, M.A.
Graduate Advisor | Black Students’ Union
Eastman School of Music -
William Quillen
Dean of the Conservatory of Music | Professor of Musicology
Oberlin College and Conservatory -
LaRob K. Rafael
Producer | Host | Director
Hearing in Color | WFMT Chicago -
Berginald Rash
Clarinetist | TEDx Speaker
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Cleo Reed
Sound Designer | Composer | Performance Artist
Photo Credit: Jacob Consenstein -
Andrea Restrepo
Orchestra Manager & Operations Assistant
Empire State Youth Orchestra -
Victoria Robey, CBE
Board Member
Sphinx Organization -
Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)
Violinist | Composer | Educator
ASU | SOZO Artists -
Vanessa Rose
Executive Director
American Composers Forum -
Omari Rush
Executive Director
CultureSource -
Eric Salazar
Clarinetist, Composer, & Arts Administrator
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Mahmoud Said
Manager, Community Campaign & Engagement
ArtsWave -
Shea Scruggs
Chief Enrollment Officer and Director of Institutional Research and Musician Experience
Curtis Institute of Music -
Marcia Lynn Sells
Chief Diversity Officer
Metropolitan Opera -
Jaime Sharp
Arts Leader, Cultural Innovator, Equity Strategist
Grantmakers in the Arts -
Cecelia Sharpe
Producer | Host
WRCJ -
Michal Shein
Artistic Director | Cellist
Cellisimo -
Ariel Shelton
Co-Executive Director
CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia -
Alexa Smith
Senior Director for Anti-Racism, Equity, and Belonging
The Public Theater -
Koven Smith
Senior Director/Arts
Knight Foundation -
Sarah Smith
Junior Strategist | SOLA Intern
dcm, Inc. | Strings of Latin America -
André Solomon
Community Knowledge Manager & Flutist
Creative Generation -
Weston Sprott
Dean and Director | Trombonist
The Juilliard School Preparatory Division | Metropolitan Opera Orchestra -
Kerrien Suarez
President & CEO
Equity In The Center -
Tamar-kali
Vocalist | Composer | Performer
Photo Credit: Bas Bogaerts -
Alasdair Tait
Chief Executive | Executive Director
YCAT (Young Classical Artists Trust) -
Scott Tixier
Professor | Jazz Violinist | Composer
University of North Texas -
Andrea Thompson
Director of Development
Afro Latin Jazz -
Esther Triggs
Director or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Interlochen Center for the Arts -
Titus Underwood
Oboist
Nashville Symphony | University of Cincinnati -
Elena Urioste
Violinist
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective | Intermission -
Dr. Liana Valente
Shared Voices Program Coordinator
The Denyce Graves Foundation -
Alan D. Valentine
President & CEO
Nashville Symphony -
Lecolion Washington
Executive Director
Community Music Center of Boston -
Mark Williams
Chief Executive Officer
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Photo Credit: Russell Lee -
Mark Wilson
Executive Director of Zoellner Arts Center
Lehigh University -
Paula Wilson
Member Services and Communications Manager
Equity Arc -
Dr. Demarr Woods
Chairperson of the Department of Music and Performing Arts
Hampton University -
Simon Woods
President & CEO
League of American Orchestras
Photo Credit: Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging -
John Zion
President & CEO
MKI Artists