Congratulations to the 2024 Sphinx Medal of Excellence Recipients! On March 27, conductor Kalena Bovell, cellist Sterling Elliott, and tenor David Portillo were honored by the Sphinx Organization for their accomplishments as artists and leaders in the field.

The Sphinx Medal of Excellence is the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, the social justice organization dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts, and comes with a $50,000 career grant. The medal recognizes extraordinary Black and Latinx classical musicians. Recipients are artists who, early in their career, demonstrate artistic excellence, outstanding work ethic, a spirit of determination, and an ongoing commitment to leadership and their communities.

With her distinctive voice as maestra, speaker, and poet, critics praise Panamanian-American conductor Kalena Bovell as “one of the brightest stars in classical music.” (Channel 3 News, Connecticut). Propelled by a steadfast commitment to musical excellence and community access, her recent achievements include receiving the prestigious 2024 Sphinx Medal of Excellence—the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization—and becoming the first Black woman to conduct an opera in Canada, conducting a world premiere reimagination of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha. The former Assistant Conductor of the Memphis Symphony, she has also served as guest conductor with orchestras, including the Minnesota Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Hamilton Philharmonic, and the Victoria Symphony. As a guest clinician, she has worked with programs from the New England Conservatory and The Juilliard School Pre-College.

Cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. Named the 2023 YCAT Robey Artist, Sterling will fulfill an ambassadorial role in partnership with Music Masters in London, delivering workshops and engaging with young learners in schools across the United Kingdom. He was recently selected by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for its Bowers Program, a three-year residency for exceptionally talented young artists. 

Sterling has performed with major orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Last summer, he made his Aspen Festival debut, performing the Brahms Double Concerto with Gil Shaham. He has been presented in recitals by the San Francisco Symphony and the New York Philharmonic, among others.

Sterling will be pursuing an Artist Diploma at Juilliard under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim. He performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.

Tenor David Portillo has performed leading roles on opera stages around the world, including Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Deutsche Opera Berlin, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Glyndebourne Festival, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Australia at the Sidney Opera House, and the Wiener Staatsoper. The Metropolitan Opera has seen Mr. Portillo in major tenor roles in The Magic Flute, The Merry Widow, The Barber of Seville, and Dialogues of the Carmelites, among others. He has premiered roles in new operas, including Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves, Thomas Ades’ The Exterminating Angel, and he just recently created Johnathan Harker in John Corigliano’s Lord of Cries at the Santa Fe Opera. In concert, Mr. Portillo has sung with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, the New York Choral Society at Carnegie Hall, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Bayerische Rundfunk Orchester at the Salzburger Festspiele, and the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal conducted by Yannick Nézet–Séguin. He has also collaborated with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra, Washington Concert Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In recital, David has collaborated for several recitals, highlighting songs in Spanish and songs about identity.

The 2024 Sphinx Medals of Excellence are generously underwritten by the Fund II Foundation, Cartier, William H. Carson, MD, John Evans & Steven Wozencraft, Raymond Sanchez, MD, and Susan Zohn.

When you donate to Sphinx Organization, you are directly contributing to our mission to transform lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Because of your generosity, Sphinx will be able to continue to take our work to the next level by helping secure the future of our ensembles and the next generation of artists. We thank you for your invaluable support!