Coming up in Philly music: Collaborating with the Sphinx

The second concert in the Curtis Institute’s Summerfest Faculty Recitals series (coming up on June 22) is a collaboration with the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization, which promotes diversity in the arts. The Sphinx Organization pursues its goals the old-fashioned way: it gives young people the opportunity to work hard and develop their abilities. The performers for the concert include younger musicians who got their start with the Sphinx Organization and popular Curtis faculty like the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Principal Harp, Elizabeth Hainen.

The opener will spotlight a thriving string quartet staffed by four Sphinx alumni, the Catalyst Quartet, playing a piece by their first violin entitled “Strum.” Elizabeth Hainen will close the evening with two 20th-century masterworks for harp: Saint-Saën’s 1907 "Fantasy for Violin and Harp" and "Pièce Symphonique," composed by the French harpist and composer Henriette Renié. A brand-new Curtis grad, Kendra Broom (2018), will take the vocal role in one of the best-loved pieces in the repertoire, Brahms’s irresistible songs for mezzo-soprano, viola, and piano.

Curtis Summerfest, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization, will present its Sphinx, Voice, and Harp Faculty Collaborative Recital on Friday, June 22, at 7pm (doors at 6:30pm) at Field Concert Hall (1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia). Tickets are $28 and they’re available online and at the door.