TICKET NOTICE: Tickets to tonight's Sphinx Symphony Orchestra performance are now available only through the Kennedy Center box office. Tickets for this event are no longer available through Washington Performing Arts.

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The wait is over! Celebrate the silver anniversary of the Sphinx Organization with the Washington, D.C. debut of their phenomenal namesake orchestra and special guests.

In this monumental gathering of artistic forces, the 55-member Sphinx Orchestra and vocal ensemble EXIGENCE, an all-Black-and-Latinx ensemble of top professionals from around the country, are joined by D.C.-based Grammy Award-winning The Washington Chorus, along with a special guest appearance by soprano Aundi Marie Moore, a veteran of the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, and other revered companies. Rescheduled from the 2021/22 Season due to COVID-19 precautions, this performance offers the same far-reaching program, including Joel Thompson’s forceful and deeply moving Seven Last Words of the Unarmed; a new work commissioned by Sphinx from the highly regarded, D.C.-born/based and Atlanta-raised composer Carlos Simon; and the modern-day anthem “Glory,” composed by John Legend and Common for the film Selma.

CARLOS SIMON - Motherboxx Connection*
SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR - Ballade for Orchestra, Op. 33
VALERIE COLEMAN - Seven O'Clock Shout
MICHAEL ABELS - Delights and Dances
TRADITIONAL (arr. Augustus Hill) - Fix Me, Jesus (featuring Aundi Marie Moore)
CARLOS CORDERO/JULIE FLANDERS - Holding Our Breath
JOEL THOMPSON - Seven Last Words of the Unarmed
JOHN LEGEND/COMMON (arr. Eugene Rogers) - “Glory” from Selma

*Commissioned by the Sphinx Organization

Co-presented with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with The Washington Chorus

This performance is made possible through the generous support of Mike and Luanne Gutermuth.

Washington Performing Arts’s originally scheduled 2021 presentation of the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra was made possible through the generous support of the following sponsors: Rudy Burwell and Mona Mohib/Encompass Supply; the Dan Cameron Family Foundation.

Washington Performing Arts’s classical music performances this season are made possible in part through the generous support of Betsy and Robert Feinberg.

Special thanks to the following lead supporters of Washington Performing Arts’s mission-driven work: Jacqueline Badger Mars and Mars, Incorporated; D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities; the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts.

Accessibility:
Washington Performing Arts is committed to ensuring visitors of all abilities can experience the performances and programs we present. We partner with our venues to ensure accommodations are available. For specific questions about accessibility at our Kennedy Center events, please visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/visit/accessibility or contact us at patronservices@washingtonperformingarts.org.

COVID-19 Health and Safety:
As Washington Performing Arts does not own nor operate its own venue, Washington Performing Arts audiences are subject to the current vaccination and face mask policy of the venue on the date of the event. Please see venue specifics here.

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This performance is made possible through the generous support of Mike and Luanne Gutermuth.