Rackham Auditorium
Sounds of Unity
Sphinx Virtuosi feat. J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano
Individual event tickets available 7/28
The Sphinx Virtuosi celebrate our country’s ever-evolving story through newly commissioned works and reimagined classics that give voice to our shared ideals and diverse perspectives.
The program includes Rachel McFarlane’s American Dialogues, as well as the timeless “Blues” movement from Maurice Ravel’s Violin Sonata. Works by Roberto Sierra and Jessie Montgomery offer vibrant explorations of heritage and transformation, while Stravinsky’s Concerto for Strings in D connects past and present in a timeless meditation on artistic freedom.
Through music that bridges time and culture, this program invites audiences to engage in a musical conversation about who we are — and who we aspire to become. American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, lauded by The New York Times for her “plush-voiced mezzo-soprano,” joins the Sphinx Virtuosi for a bold, new song cycle by Damien Geter with a libretto by Aaron Dworkin.
PROGRAM (Sun 10/18/2026: Rackham Auditorium)
Rachel McFarlane American Dialogues
Roberto Sierra Sinfonietta for Strings
Damien Geter Declaration
Jessie Montgomery Banner!
Maurice Ravel“Blues” from Violin Sonata (arr. Mladen Miloradovic)
Igor Stravinsky Concerto in D for string orchestra (“Basle”)
Thank You to Our Sponsors
PERMANENTLY ENDOWED SUPPORT
- Helmut F. and Candis J. Stern Endowment Fund
Buy Tickets
Sounds of Unity
Sphinx Virtuosi feat. J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano
Rackham Auditorium
Season ticket packages on sale now!
Individual event tickets available 7/28
CHOOSE A PERFORMANCE:
Or call the ticket office at 734-764-2538
* Student, Senior and Group Discounts may be available
Two time Grammy® Award-winning American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, known for her “plush-voiced mezzo-soprano” (The New York Times), and “calmly commanding stage presence” (The New Yorker) has been “marked out at an early stage as a singer headed for top flight” (Financial Times), gracing the world’s leading operatic and concert stages “with a voice both voluptuous and statuesque” (The New York Times).
Ms. Bridges has emerged as a leading figure in classical music’s shift toward conversations of inclusion and racial justice in the performing arts. In 2022 she was announced as one of the Kennedy Center’s NEXT50 cultural leaders, and appeared with The National Philharmonic in the world premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s A Knee on the Neck that same year. Bridges led a highly successful panel on race and inequality in opera with the Los Angeles Opera that drew international acclaim for being a “conversation of striking scope and candor” (The New York Times). Ms. Bridges was also featured in the Converse shoe brand’s All Stars Campaign for its Breaking Down Barriers collection, and performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel for two episodes of the digital SOUND/STAGE series. She was also a part of the Global Citizen movement’s Global Goal campaign, a program which also included Coldplay, Shakira, Usher and more and was featured as a “DVF” Woman, a campaign started by clothing designer Diane Von Furstenberg recognizing leading women who also love fashion.
Bridges is a recipient of the prestigious 2018 Sphinx Medal of Excellence Award, a 2016 Richard Tucker Career Grant, first prize winner at the 2016 Francisco Viñas International Competition, first prize winner at the 2015 Gerda Lissner Competition, a recipient of the 2013 Sullivan Foundation Award, a 2012 Marian Anderson award winner, the recipient of the 2011 Sara Tucker Study Grant, the recipient of the 2009 Richard F. Gold Grant from The Shoshana Foundation, and the winner of the 2008 Leontyne Price Foundation Competition.
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