Coming to the Cobb Great Hall at the Wharton Center, Sphinx Virtuosi will be delivering a performance called American Form/s: a musical tapestry spotlighting the many sounds of American classical music and composers of color, through infusions of soul, bluegrass, jazz, blues and elements of rag.

Director of Ensemble Advancement at the Sphinx Organization and General Manager of the Sphinx Virtuosi Bill Neri said the performance will be a chance for the audience to take an opportunity to listen to something new and something familiar at the same time.

"(It’s) a great opportunity to hear music that might be reminiscent of pieces that people already might recognize, but a great chance to take a risk and hear something unique and new and interesting with voices that are underrepresented," Neri said.

Music education senior Emilia Teed said performances like Sphinx Virtuosi’s are important because of the representation they provide.

"I think that groups that come in, clearly supporting and advocating for diversity in both performers and repertoire, is extremely important for the audience and people in general to see," Teed said. "Being a minority myself, having that representation up on the stage is quite inspiring."

With the Wharton Center being on MSU’s campus, students are able to access performances like this without much difficulty. Third-year master's student in music performance Richie Diaz said the accessibility factor is particularly important for students to keep in touch with their inner selves.

"Art is what makes us human, and I think (is) what keeps us in touch with ourselves and our humanity and our empathy," Diaz said. "To be able to go and see these people that dedicate their lives to performing for other people, there's really not any other experience we have, I think, as people."

Similarly, Teed said accessibility and promotion of fine arts through the Wharton Center is "vital" to connect the student body with the general public.

"The community has a big presence in the Wharton audience as well, and I think that connection of (the) student body to the Greater East Lansing area is incredibly important as well, and Wharton is the place that is facilitated," Teed said.

With performances like Sphinx Virtuosi, their work can impact entire communities. Diaz said performances can even bring these communities together.

"They generate curiosity, whether (it) be like, how the performers perform, what it took, what practices,” Diaz said. "I think that curiosity in a community ultimately leads to groups of people coming together and acting on that curiosity, whether it's taking lessons or taking classes like dance classes, music, whatever."

Teed believes the performances can lead to more visibility and representation.

"The impact on the community is just more visibility for these minority groups," Teed said. "The variety of composition and music that performs is something that shows our community's diversity, and that reflection on a big stage like at the Wharton Center is incredibly important for students, and people in the town to see."

Neri said he hopes the audience will come in with an open mind and walk away with a better understanding of the Sphinx Organization’s work.

"It may be that everyone has their own tastes and things like that, that's fine," Neri said. "But I welcome people to take the chance on this repertoire and then also to understand the work that we're doing as an organization, transforming lives to the power of the arts and where, you know, we're all coming from the shared background, so really understanding the message between the music and beyond the stage and to take that home with them as well."

The Sphinx Organization is unique because it isn’t just limited to delivering performances, Neri said.

"The Sphinx Virtuosi are the flagship touring entity of the Sphinx Organization, which is a larger enterprise that includes leadership training programs, Career Excellence Awards (and) Young Artist Education," Neri said.

Diaz is also a recipient of one of the Organization’s services and said that it has opened new opportunities for him to pursue.

"I've utilized a lot of their NAAS grants, which is their National Alliance for Audition Support, and how I've been able to use it is basically, I propose a grant (and) I use it for travel," Diaz said. "A couple of auditions that I've traveled to (were) simply not possible without the help of Sphinx and the grants that they've very generously given me."

For more information on the Sphinx Virtuosi and to purchase tickets, visit the Wharton Center’s website here.