The Sphinx Medal of Excellence is awarded to exceptional Black and Latinx classical musicians in recognition of their extraordinary talent and contributions to the field. Along with this prestigious honor, recipients also receive a career grant of $50,000. The Sphinx Organization, dedicated to promoting diversity in the arts and transforming lives, aims to acknowledge artists who demonstrate artistic excellence, a strong work ethic, determination, leadership qualities, and a commitment to their communities.
The 2024 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipients are conductor Kalena Bovell, cellist Sterling Elliott, and tenor David Portillo.
Sterling Elliott, a cellist and VC Young Artist, has received various accolades, including the 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant and winning the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. As the 2023 YCAT Robey Artist, Sterling will serve as an ambassador in partnership with Music Masters in London, conducting workshops and engaging with young learners in schools across the United Kingdom. He has been selected for the Bowers Program by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a three-year residency for exceptionally talented young artists. Sterling has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He will be pursuing an Artist Diploma at Juilliard under the guidance of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim. Sterling plays a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.
Kalena Bovell, a Panamanian-American conductor, is the recipient of the 2023 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization. She is also a recipient of the 2022-2024 Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship. In the 2023-2024 season, Bovell will be performing across Canada, the United States, and Switzerland, making debut appearances with the Louisiana Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, and the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera. She has been featured as a conductor on the Chineke! Orchestra's 2022 album, "Coleridge-Taylor," which celebrates the African-British composer of the same name.
David Portillo, a tenor, has taken on leading roles on opera stages worldwide, including at the Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Deutsche Opera Berlin, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne Festival, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Australia at the Sidney Opera House, and the Wiener Staatsoper. He has performed major tenor roles at the Metropolitan Opera, including in "The Magic Flute," "The Merry Widow," "The Barber of Seville," and "Dialogues of the Carmelites." Portillo has also premiered roles in new operas, such as Missy Mazzoli's "Breaking the Waves," Thomas Ades' "The Exterminating Angel," and John Corigliano's "Lord of Cries" at the Santa Fe Opera. In concert, he has sung with esteemed orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Choral Society at Carnegie Hall, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Bayerrische Rundfunk Orchester at the Salzburger Festspiele, and the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal conducted by Yannick Nézet–Séguin.
