Boston Conservatory and the Sphinx Organization Join Forces to Make Classical Education Accessible With its intensive summer program for string players, the Sphinx Performance Academy supports young musicians from underserved communities.
By
Sarah Godcher Murphy
July 1, 2025
Violinists from Sphinx Performance Academy rehearse in Seully Hall at Boston Conservatory.
Mariela Lemus
In a new collaboration aimed at expanding access to classical music education, Boston Conservatory at Berklee hosted the Sphinx Organization's two-week summer intensive for musicians aged 11 to 17, the Sphinx Performance Academy, from June 16 to 29. With dual goals of excellence and diversity, this full-scholarship educational program serves young string players from throughout the United States, providing private lessons, master classes with college-level instructors, and mentorship for Black and Latinx youth from communities where classical music education is hard to come by.
The Sphinx Performance Academy session at Boston Conservatory welcomed 24 students from 16 different states, including California, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New York. The majority traveled from across the country to attend, according to Ana Abrantes, director of education for the academy. Students lived on campus for two weeks in June, getting a taste of Boston Conservatory studies while working on chamber, orchestra, and solo repertoire for violin, viola, cello, and bass.
During a series of afternoon master classes, Sphinx Academy students worked directly with several of Boston Conservatory's accomplished string faculty, including cellist Patrice Jackson and violinists Lynn Chang and Saul Bitran.
A Sphinx Academy violinist practices with a student chamber group.
Mariela Lemus
Associate Professor Patrice Jackson assists a student cellist with his bow grip.
Mariela Lemus
A Sphinx Academy cellist reacts to feedback from Patrice Jackson.
Mariela Lemus
Professor Lynn Chang (right) works with a student violinist during a master class.
Mariela Lemus
Sphinx Performance Academy cellists rehearse in Seully Hall.
Mariela Lemus
Associate Professor Saul Bitran (left) works with students in a chamber music master class.
Ana Abrantes
A Sphinx Performance Academy string quartet awaits their dress rehearsal.
Mariela Lemus
Natara Gray (left), assistant dean of admissions, speaks with academy students.
Mariela Lemus
The new partnership with Sphinx just makes sense, said Michael Shinn, executive director for Boston Conservatory. Our two institutions are kindred spirits in the sense that we both are creating new norms in classical music and challenging the status quo by asking important questions: What is considered standard concert repertoire? And who is represented on stage? he said.
Inclusivity begins with education-and the earlier the better, said Natara Gray, Berklee's assistant dean of admissions, who partnered with Abrantes to bring Sphinx Performance Academy to Boston Conservatory.
I believe in building foundational and trustworthy relationships, particularly in communities that are historically underrepresented and underserved, Gray said. When you start at younger ages, you're able to establish that trust and also build pathways for people to feel supported, so they're able to pursue a career in music.
The collaboration between Sphinx and Boston Conservatory will continue, with plans for the academy to return in summer 2026 and 2027.
It's been a joy to witness these incredibly talented young musicians from across the country come together and grow in such a vibrant, supportive environment, Abrantes said.
Most Popular
Image by Maddie Ross, courtesy of Tape Op magazine
Building a Home Recording Studio? Here's What You Need. Experts break down the home studio setup and share tips to create a pro-level recording space on any budget.
Latest
Cole Haden BM '19, lead singer of Model/Actriz
Photo: Scott Kowalchyk 2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert The Brooklyn-based band made up of Berklee alumni made their television debut performing the single Cinderella with their distinctive intense and theatrical flair.
Students singing in the 2024 Gospel Performance Program summer showcase in Boston, Massachusetts.
Image by Bryan Lasky
Berklee's Gospel Performance Program Welcomes Jonathan Nelson as the Herb Alpert Visiting Artist The program will take place July 21-25 and will feature a free gospel concert directed by Nelson on July 24.
Violinists from Sphinx Performance Academy rehearse in Seully Hall at Boston Conservatory.
Mariela Lemus
Boston Conservatory and the Sphinx Organization Join Forces to Make Classical Education Accessible With its intensive summer program for string players, the Sphinx Performance Academy supports young musicians from underserved communities.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
31/05/2026
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...
31/05/2026
Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...
31/05/2026
As factories move from isolated automation to plant-wide intelligence, manufacturers need AI systems that can connect live machine signals, quality systems, wor...
31/05/2026
The NVIDIA AI Cloud ecosystem is accelerating the global buildout of AI factory infrastructure. Partners are expanding capacity to meet growing demand from ente...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
Boston Conservatory and the Sphinx Organization Join Forces to Make Classical Education Accessible With its intensive summer program for string players, the Sphinx Performance Academy supports young musicians from underserved communities.
