In this concert, postponed from January 2021, Detroit’s Sphinx Organization celebrates its 25th anniversary, and UMS presents the full orchestra on its first-ever national tour, immediately after its Sphinx Competition performances.

The all-Black and Latinx Sphinx Symphony Orchestra is composed of top professionals from around the country, with members serving as mentors to Competition finalists and promoting works by Black and Latinx composers. Sphinx’s vocal ensemble, EXIGENCE, joins the ensemble for several pieces, including Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, a powerful multi-movement choral work that was premiered by the U-M Glee Club in 2016 and memorializes the last words spoken by seven African-American men killed by police or other authority figures.

Please note new performance start time of 2 pm.

This concert is presented in conjunction with SphinxConnect, a national convening focused on diversity and inclusion in the arts.

PROGRAM

Carlos Simon Motherboxx Connection
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Ballade for Orchestra in a minor, Op. 33
Valerie Coleman Seven O’Clock Shout
Michael Abels Delights and Dances (with quartet soloists Rainel Joubert, Rubén Rengel, Jordan Bak & Christine Lamprea)
Traditional, arr. Augustus Hill Fix Me, Jesus
Carlos Cordero/Julie Flanders Holding Our Breath
Joel Thompson Seven Last Words of the Unarmed
Stephens, Lynn and Smith (arr. Eugene Rogers) “Glory” from Selma