Cellist Cabezas and Sphinx Virtuosi on Tour

CUR_4116From September 29 to November 7, 2013, cellist Gabriel Cabezas will tour with the Sphinx Virtuosi, a conductorless ensemble comprising alumni of the Sphinx Competition. The tour includes a one-night only event at Chicago’s Harris Theater on Tuesday, October 1 at 7:30 pm, during which Cabezas will perform as one of two cello soloists on Vivaldi’s Concerto in G Minor for Two Cellos, Strings, and Continuo. Vocal star mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves will join the Sphinx musicians in a singular program including works by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Bach, Vivaldi, and Piazzolla. Tickets are $10-25 and are available at www.harristheaterchicago.org or by calling (312) 334-7777.

The tour also includes an event at Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium on Tuesday, October 8 at 6:00 pm, during which the ensemble will perform with former Sphinx laureates the Catalyst Quartet. Tickets are $25 and are available at www.CarnegieHall.org.

A native Chicagoan, and recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Gabriel Cabezas was the 2012 winner of the Sphinx Competition, Senior Division, and will perform as a soloist at Chicago’s International Beethoven Festival this month. The 20-year-old cellist to has played Carnegie multiple times: In 2011 he performed with Randall Goosby and as a soloist in 2013; he has also previously played a showcase recital in Carnegie’s Weill Hall and participated in a From the Top taping.During their six-week tour, the Sphinx Virtuosi will also visit Chicago, Houston, and Washington, D.C. (complete schedule below or see www.sphinxmusic.org).

SPHINX VIRTUOSI – COMPLETE TOUR SCHEDULE:

Sunday, September 29, 4:00 pm: James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, Grayslake, IL
Tuesday, October 1, 7:30 pm: Harris Theater, Chicago, IL (with special guest Denyce Graves)
Wednesday, October 2, 7:30 pm: Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
Friday, October 4, 12:00 pm: Rockefeller University, New York, NY
Sunday, October 6, 3:30 pm: Cheyney University Arts and Lecture Series, Cheyney, PA
Tuesday, October 8, 6:00 pm: Carnegie Hall, New York, NY (with Catalyst Quartet)
Thursday, October 10, 7:30 pm: Norton Center for the Arts, Danville, KY
Saturday, October 12, 7:30 pm: Miller Outdoor Theater, Houston, TX (with Houston Symphony)
Tuesday, October 22, 7:30 pm: New World Center, Miami Beach, FL
Friday, October 25, 7:30 pm: Beaches Fine Arts Series, Jacksonville Beach, FL
Sunday, October 27, 4:00 pm: Arts Center of coastal Carolina, Hilton Head, SC
Tuesday, October 29, 7:00 pm: The Grand Opera House, Macon, GA
Friday, November 1, 8:00 pm: Blumenthal Performing Arts, Charlotte, NC
Sunday, November 3, 3:00 pm: Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Tuesday, November 5, 7:00 pm: Denison University, Granville, OH
Thursday, November 7, 7:30 pm: Washington Performing Arts Society, Washington, DC

Cellist Gabriel Cabezas has appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the New World Symphony, and the Nashville Symphony, among others. Cabezas has been portrayed as “…an intense player who connects to the music naturally, without artifice, and brings a singing line to the cello” (David Stabler, The Oregonian) and his debut performance with the Cleveland Orchestra described as a “…remarkably poised and elegant account, with superb attention to phrasing, nuance and tonal coloration” (Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer).A passion for chamber music and collaboration has taken him to Marlboro Music, Music@Menlo, Music from Angel Fire, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Bargemusic, and Chicago’s Symphony Center Presents series. His television appearances include performances with Yo-Yo Ma at “The Tavis Smiley Show” and “Good Morning America”, and with Béla Fleck in “From The Top – Carnegie Hall.”2013-14 season highlights include a subscription debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as a return to Chicago’s International Beethoven Festival. Cabezas’ 2012-13 engagements included concerts with the Detroit Symphony, the Nashville Symphony and the National Symphony of Costa Rica, as well as appearances with Musicians from Marlboro, at the International Beethoven Festival, and ChamberFest Cleveland.Formerly a recipient of an Education Grant by the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation, Cabezas has supported music outreach and education programs including Midori’s Partners in Performance, the Sphinx Organization, Costa Rica’s national SINEM music education program, and Chicago’s Citizen Musician movement. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Carter Brey. As a writer, Cabezas has been featured in Teen Strings Magazine and has been a contributing writer for Strings Magazine.

The Sphinx Virtuosi (formerly Sphinx Chamber Orchestra) is a conductorless ensemble comprised of alumni from the Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latino string players. This unique group has earned rave reviews from The New York Times. Allan Kozinn of the Times described their performances as “first-rate in every way” and the ensemble to have “produced a more beautiful, precise and carefully shaped sound than some fully professional orchestras that come through Carnegie Hall in the course of the year.”The Sphinx Virtuosi Tour offers a diverse program featuring well-known repertoire in addition to works by African-American and Latino composers, including works by Mozart, Piazzolla, Michael Abels, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and others. The Sphinx Virtuosi are exclusively represented in North America by California Artists Management (www.CalArtists.com). The national Sphinx Virtuosi tour is made possible with the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from Art Works, the MetLife Foundation, and Aetna.