This organization was founded by the 42-year-old African American violinist, Aaron Dworkin in 1996 and is dedicated to the development of young Black and Latin American classical musicians. Motivated by Dworkin’s own experience of being the only African American musician in an orchestra and by seeing that there were only a small number of Blacks and Latin Americans in the audience, he determined to bring about cultural diversity to the world of classical music.

     The Sphinx Organization holds an annual competition for string players; the winner having the privilege to perform at the Carnegie Hall and to play as a member of the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra. They also have other various programs to encourage Black and Latin American young musicians to develop the skills required to become a professional musician. The Sphinx Symphony Orchestra reaches an audience of over 2 million people a year. In some schools in the underserved communities of Detroit where 80 % of the residents are black, they also perform classical music concerts and teach students how to play various musical instruments.
     Gradually, through these activities, it has become an organization that is known throughout the US. In the 15 years since its foundation, the Sphinx Organization has produced many musicians who have gone on to work professionally and the number of Black and Latin American musicians in American orchestras has doubled from 2% to 4 %. Founder Aaron Dworkin himself has been recognized as a great “reformer of music education” and has been appointed by President Obama as a member of the National Arts Policy Committee.
     There are many famous musicians who give their support to the Sphinx Organization, such as Yo-Yo Ma and the late Isaac Stern, sometimes playing with the students and sometimes teaching them. The organization has expanded, opening offices in New York and Chicago and has become more international, opening an office in London and working with other orchestras in Venezuela and in London. 60% of The Sphinx Organization’s annual budget of $3.2 million is made up of donations from foundations, corporations and individuals.
     Dworkin is passionate about the future, saying, “Blacks and Latin Americans combined represent only 4 % of all the members of America’s orchestras. We have to try harder to bring cultural diversity to classical music, while maintaining artistic quality.”