Central Michigan University

CMU's White Pine Music releases new disc by Harlem Quartet during Sphinx Organization's gala concert at Carnegie Hall

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Topics in this story: Arts and entertainment, University news

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Media Contact(s):

Lindsay Allen
989-774-7327

Program Contact(s):

Scott Burgess
989-774-2045

The latest release from Central Michigan University's recording label recently made its debut at New York's famed Carnegie Hall.

As part of a partnership between CMU's Center for Public Service through Music and the Arts and Detroit's Sphinx Organization, the Harlem Quartet released "Take the 'A' Train" on the CMU School of Music's White Pine Music label. The compact disc's release was celebrated Sept. 25 as part of The Sphinx Laureates at Carnegie Hall concert, which featured past winners of the organization's annual competitions.

Tracks for the disc, including pieces by Wynton Marsalis, Billy Strayhorn, Joaquin Turina and Guido Lopes-Gavilan, were recorded in May in CMU's Staples Family Concert Hall.

The Harlem Quartet's members have all been First Place Laureates &mdash winners of the top prize &mdash in past years' Sphinx Competitions. The group includes first violinist Ilmar Gavilan, second violinist Melissa White, violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez and cellist Desmond Neysmith.

Hernandez, the Gold Achievement winner of the ninth National Sphinx Competition in 2006, was one of the featured artists on the first Sphinx and White Pine Music collaborative release, "Moyugba Orisha," which debuted in February 2007.

The Detroit-based Sphinx Organization is dedicated to increasing the participation of Black and Latino artists in classical music, both on stage and in audiences. The organization's Sphinx Competitions, held annually in Detroit, offers young Black and Latino classical string players a chance to compete under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of judges and to perform with established professional musicians in an encouraging setting. The Harlem Quartet and other Sphinx artists will continue to record with CMU's White Pine Music in the future.

For more information regarding the White Pine label or to order "Take the 'A' Train" or other titles, visit http://www.whitepinemusic.com or call 989-774-2045. Additional information about the Sphinx Organization can be found online at http://www.sphinxmusic.org.