MOSES LAKE — Some of the best classical music talent in the country will visit Moses Lake when Sphinx Virtuosi plays the Wallenstien Theater on Saturday.
“We are so pleased and honored to have them come to our small town stage,” said Shawn Cardwell, executive director of Columbia Basin Allied Arts, which is presenting the concert. “These guys are touring the nation right now, showcasing the artists that are part of the group, as well as the artists who wrote the music that they play.”
The Sphinx Virtuosi is made up of 18 of the nation’s top Black and Hispanic artists selected to showcase classical music by historically ignored minority composers, according to the website of the Sphinx Organization. The Sphinx Virtuosi have performed with the New York Philharmonic, with symphony orchestras from all over the United States, and are a regular highlight at Carnegie Hall.
“Whether or not they are Black or Hispanic, these are some of the top musicians in the nation,” Cardwell said. “Showcasing them as part of those groups is really an attempt to give them a space where they are not necessarily traditionally represented.”
The Sphinx Virtuosi perform works by composers like Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the son of a Black slave freed by the British during the American Revolution, and Florence Price, the first Black American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, who had to pretend to be Mexican in order to avoid the Jim Crow laws of the early 20th century. The music is newer than some better-known classical music, Cardwell said.
“It’s … that big, full sound that you get from classical music, but it feels more familiar and exciting because it’s written today, so the emotions are contemporary,” she said. “The stories the music tells are contemporary. It’s really exciting and it’s really beautiful.”
CBAA was fortunate to be able to book Sphinx Virtuosi, Cardwell said. The musicians are on a national tour and were able to sandwich in a performance in Moses Lake between concerts in Tacoma and Edmonds. Skaug Brothers Carpet One sponsored the show, she said. The actual performance is at 7 p.m., but the doors open at 6 p.m. for concessions provided by RM Wineries, Moore Brewing Company and The Cow Path Bakery.
The Sphinx Virtuosi concert is the third of CBAA’s four Premier Series shows for the 2024-25 season. The final show will be a showing of the 1924 silent comedy film “Sherlock Jr.” starring Buster Keaton, with live music provided by Gilbert Freudmann of CelloBop.
Cardwell said a concert like Sphinx Virtuosi offers is a good way for audiences who don’t usually seek out classical music to experience it.
“In a setting like this, where it really just fills the whole space, you do not lack for understanding what the music is trying to convey,” Cardwell said. “It’s emotional and lovely, and I recommend it for anyone who hasn’t experienced it. And for music students, this is amazing opportunity to see this level of talent in our community.”