The Sphinx Organization has announced the 2023 Sphinx Medals of Excellence Honorees in honor of Black and Latinx Artists.

This year’s winners include soprano Aundi Marie Moore, composer Joel Thompson, and cellist Thomas Mesa. Each winner will receive a $50,000 career grant and will be part of the organization’s 25^th anniversary season.

Mesa, the principal cellist of the Sphinx Virtuosi, will solo in Jessie Montgomery’s “Divided.” Moore, who has performed with such companies as the Metropolitan Opera, L’Opéra de Monte Carlo, Sarasota Opera, and the Amalfi Coast Festival, will join the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble for performances at UMS Ann Arbor on Jan. 29 and at the Kennedy Center on Jan. 31, 2022. Finally, Thompson’s “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” will be performed by the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble with members of The Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center.

The winners are set to receive their medals on March 1, 2023, in a Black-tie event at the Kennedy Center.

“We are overjoyed to celebrate these brilliant artists this year. As thousands of artists were forced off the stage by the pandemic, each of our recipients served as beautiful examples of leadership and service,” said Afa S. Dworkin, the President and Artistic Director of Sphinx, in an official press statement. “Joel’s new compositions, including his rendition of ‘Lift Every Voice,’ served as a source of refuge to his beloved EXIGENCE ensemble, Tommy personally commissioned and performed a whole series of composers to support fellow artists during a challenging time, and Aundi offered a series of motivational videos to empower her community of fellow artists. Their artistic pedigree is second to none and their dedication to excellence is authentically synonymous with the ethos of this award.”