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 excellence and representation in the arts.

Speakers will be invited throughout the summer and fall, so we encourage you to visit this page often for updates.

2026 Plenary Guests

GRAMMY® Award Winning American Wind Quintet

In Conversation with

Opening Plenary

Imani Winds

Titus Underwood
Principal Oboe | Nashville Symphony

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Closing Plenary

Tania León

GRAMMY® Award Winning Composer and Conductor

In Conversation with

Aaron P. Dworkin
Poetjournalist & Founder of The Sphinx Organization
Professor of Arts Leadership & Entrepreneurship | University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance

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2026 Spotlight Fellows

Quinteto Latino Fellows
DeShaun Gordon-King
Havana Quartet
Christopher Thompson
Daniel Kumapayi
Seyi Ajibade

2026 Speakers

Hassan A. Anderson

Teaching Artist, Assistant Professor of Oboe and Coordinator of Teaching Artistry
The University of South Carolina
Dr. Michael Angell

Founder
Pistocelli Services
Kedrick Armstrong

Music Director & Conductor
Oakland Symphony
Roberto Arruda

Director, International Student Services and Study Abroad
Berklee College of Music
Melay Tadesse Araya

Artistic Director
The Town Hall
A. Spencer Barefield

Jazz Guitarist | Composer | Presenter
Creative Arts Collective
Afton Battle

Founder | Principal BGM Consulting
BGM Consulting
J'Nai Bridges

International Opera Singer
Kyle Bruckman

Oboist
Quinteto Latino
Brittney Bryanna Burgess

Co-Founder and Executive Director
Black Collegiate Musicians
Michelle Cann

Concert Pianist
Armando Castellano

Executive Director/French horn
Quinteto Latino
Dr. Leah Claiborne

Pianist | Scholar | Founder
Ebony Music Inc.
Nebiyu Daniel

Data Analytics Manager
Social Impact Partners
Ria DasGupta

Associate Vice President for Community and Culture
The Juilliard School
Adam DesJardins

Arts & Culture Program Officer
Fred & Barbara Erb Family Foundation
Jaman E. Dunn-Danger

Assistant Professor of Practice
SUNY University at Buffalo
Zoe Donovan

Humanities Coordinator
Theatre for a New Audience
Portia Dunkley

Founder, CEO
Teeni Violini Inc.
Sterling Elliott

Cellist
Dr. Raynel Frazier

Director of Programming and Artistic Planning
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Dr. José Fernando Flórez

Director of the PhD in Political Studies at the Externado University of Colombia
Externado University of Colombia
Brianna Garcon

Manager of Residence Life
The Colburn School
Kathleen Gasparian

Immigration Attorney
Gasparian Spivey Immigration
Jazmin Goodson

Director of Camp Levine
Levine Music
Anthony Gray-Bolden

Dean
Cab Calloway School of the Arts
Diane Grubbe

Flutist
Quinteto Latino
Tayloe Harding

Dean
University of South Carolina School of Music
Dr. Mieko Hatano

Chief Executive Officer
Oakland Symphony
Lisa E. Harris

Founding Creative Director | Soprano
Studio Enertia
Jonathan Bailey Holland

Dean
Bienen School of Music - Northwestern University
Dr. Zuly Inirio

Founder and Executive Director
Afro-Latinx Song & Opera Project
Patty Isacson Sabee

President and CEO
Detroit Opera
Blake-Anthony Johnson

CEO
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation
Michelle D. Johnson

Senior Program Manager
Kresge Foundation
Pamela Jones

Senior Artist Development Manager
OPERA America
Noa Kageyama

Performance Psychologist
The Juilliard School | Cleveland Institute of Music
DJ King Rico

Composer
Deidre Lambert-Bounds

President
Ignite Social Media
Alysia Lee

Founder
Sister Cities Girlchoir
Eun Lee

Executive and Artistic Director
The Dream Unfinished
George Lewis

Professor
Columbia University
Will Liverman

Baritone
Yvette Loynaz

Director of Artistic Administration
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Sarah Lyding

Executive Director
The Music Man Foundation
Tifini McClyde-Blythe

Associate Vice President of Human Resources
Interlochen Center for the Arts
Ruben McFarlane

Director of Community Engagement & Partnerships
Castle of Our Skins
Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II

CEO, Flutist
M3 Mitchell Media & Marketing
Dr. Patricio Molina Phd, DMA

Senior Director, Faculty and Creative Practice
NJPAC
Kristina Newman-Scott

VP/Arts
Knight Foundation
Heather Noonan

Vice President for Advocacy
League of American Orchestras
Marcus Norris

Composer, Artistic Director
South Side Symphony
David A. Norville

Oboist & Executive Director
Focus On Your Art
Melissa Ngan

President & CEO
American Composers Orchestra
Dr. Shawn E. Okpebholo

Jonathan Blanchard Professor of Composition
Wheaton College - Conservatory of Music
Kerriann Otaño

Vice President of Engagement
OperaDelaware
Joy Payton-Stevens

Cellist
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Alexis V. Prescott-Polk, M.A.

Director of Operations & Advancement
Black Collegiate Musicians (BCM)
Lígia Pucci

Associate Artistic Director
Windy City Performing Arts
Andrea Restrepo

Orchestra and Operations Manager
ESYO
Adrian O. Rodríguez, Ed.D.

Director of Community Engagement
The Juilliard School
Lesley Rosenthal

COO & Corp. Secretary
The Juilliard School
Hannah Ross

Director of Learning
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Jamal Rossi

Joan and Martin Messinger Dean Emeritus
Eastman School of Music
Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)

Arizona State University/SOZO Artists
Omari Rush

Executive Director
CultureSource
Megan Sesma

Principal Harpist | Adjunct Harp Faculty | 1st Vice President
USCG Band | Wesleyan University & Connecticut College | American Harp Society
Martin Sher

Chief Artistic and Operating Officer
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Alexa Smith

Associate Artistic Director
The Public Theater
Karen Slack

Soprano
Jamael Smith

Bassoonist
Quinteto Latino
Elizabeth Steiner

Harpist
Curtis Stewart

Violinist, Composer
American Composers Orchestra | Juilliard School
Leslie Tagorda

Clarinetist | Author | Entrepreneur
Quinteto Latino
Levi Taylor

Composer
Melissa Wegner

Executive Director, Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and Laffont Competition
The Metropolitan Opera
Eric Williamson

Artistic Director
Lavender Light: The Black & People of All Colors Lesbian and Gay Gospel Choir
Elizabeth Winslow

Director of School Partnerships
MacPhail Center for Music
Simon Woods

President & CEO
League of American Orchestras
Hsin-Ching Wu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Arts Management & Director of Graduate Certificate in Arts and Cultural Management
College of Charleston