Sphinx Chamber Orchestra - featuring Elena Urisote, violin and the Harlem Quartet

The Performing Artists Series is underwritten in part by the Reading Eagle and WEEU 830 AM

The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra is a twenty piece string ensemble comprising top alumni of the national Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latino string players. Allan Kozinn of the The New York Times described their performances as "first-rate in every way." SCO has performed at Carnegie Hall since 2004 to fully sold-out crowds every year.

Members of the SCO have completed and continue to pursue their studies at the nation's top music schools, including the Juilliard, Curtis, Eastman, Peabody, Harvard, and the University of Michigan. Finally, a number of SCO members have appeared as soloists with major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Pittsburgh

Elena Urioste (violin), featured on the cover of Symphony magazine as an emerging artist to watch, has been hailed by critics and audiences alike for her lush tone, the nuanced lyricism of her playing, and her commanding stage presence. Elena's debut performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2010 were praised by three separate critics for their "hypnotic delicacy," "expressive poise," and "lyrical sensitivity." Since first appearing with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age thirteen, she has made acclaimed debuts with major orchestras throughout the United States, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Richmond, San Antonio, and Sarasota symphony orchestras. Elena has been a featured artist in the Ravinia, La Jolla, and Sarasota Music Festivals, as well as Switzerland's Sion Valais International Music Festival. Earlier that year she debuted at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. She makes her first appearance at the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival in 2010.  As first-place laureate in both the Junior and Senior divisions of the Sphinx Competition, she debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2004. She has collaborated with many acclaimed conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Keith Lockhart, and Robert Spano,

The Harlem Quartet, praised for its "panache" by The New York Times, is an ensemble comprising First-Place Laureates of the Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latino string players Ilmar Gavilán (violin),  Melissa White (violin), Juan-Miguel Hernandez (viola), and Desmond Neysmith (cello).  The quartet opened its 2009-10 included celebrated performances at Carnegie Hall, Eastman School of Music, Oberlin College, and the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. In December they played two performances at the White House for guests of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and made an appearance Christmas morning on NBC's Today Show.  In 2009 the quartet also performed by invitation with Itzhak Perlman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and made its London debut performing at the residence of the US ambassador to the UK. Each member of the Harlem Quartet is a seasoned solo artist, having appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, and the Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, National, New World, and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras, among others. As a quartet, they have performed in many communities across the country including Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Boston.