Sphinx Chamber Orchestra visits Ruskin High School

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Some talented young musicians who have played Carnegie Hall made a stop at Ruskin High School Monday.

They're hoping to inspire a love of classical music in a new audience.

"The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra's a touring ensemble. We get together every year for about a month and just go around the country playing concerts,” said Tony Rymer, a cellist from Boston.

That sounds like a pretty good gig, as the musicians say. Rymer wants to share it with kids who might not otherwise get a chance to consider a career playing classical music.

"Well, it's a lot of fun. We get paid and I think it's a good mission that the Sphinx Organization has; to diversify classical music,” Rymer said.

They hope to accomplish that mission by exposing minority audiences to talented African-American and Latino musicians playing not only Bach and friends, but works by African-American and Latino composers.

"The interest level is usually very high, sometimes the resources they have aren't the best and they don't have that much experience, but they're usually very interested in hearing us play and hearing about our background and where we're from,” Rymer said of the schools they have visited.

For Rymer it's about giving other young people a shot at the breaks he has benefited from.

"At least for me it gave me the opportunity to see the world. I've traveled all over the place … and it's a lot of fun,” he said.

And maybe it will be for one of the Ruskin music students who saw them perform.

The Sphinx Chamber Orchestra was brought to Ruskin High through a partnership with UMKC's “Musical Bridges” program.