Sphinx Virtuosi
Britton-René Collins, percussion

The Sphinx Virtuosi is a dynamic and inspiring professional self-conducted chamber orchestra and serves as the flagship performing entity of the Sphinx Organization – the leading social justice non-profit dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Comprised of eighteen accomplished Black and Latinx artists, a critical aim of the Sphinx Virtuosi is to evolve and transform the face of classical music through artistic excellence, pioneering programming, and impassioned community engagement. Its members serve as cultural and diversity ambassadors for audiences and communities around the United States during national tours.

Since 2004, the Sphinx Virtuosi’s concerts have been presented by the leading arts organizations, including annual return visits to Carnegie Hall where it is an established highlight of the fall season. Frequently selling out venues, the ensemble has garnered effusive accolades including from The New York Times that has described the group as "...top-notch...more essential at this moment than ever...a vibrant, assured performance..."; and The Washington Post that wrote “true to their name, the Sphinx Virtuosi call up the vision of an iconic mythological feline with its immeasurable power, unwavering command, and soulful beauty.” Their debut album, Songs for Our Times, was released on Deutsche Grammophon in July 2023 and represents the rich history of the Sphinx Organization and the vibrant future of classical music by centering the artistry of extraordinary composers and artistic visionaries of color.

Heralded for its kaleidoscopically varied repertoire and bold thematic programming, Sphinx Virtuosi concerts give prominence to historically excluded Black and Latinx composers such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Alberto Ginastera, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Florence Price, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and George Walker. In an effort to expand its repertoire and engage new audiences, the ensemble commissions new works annually. Commissions have included major new works from Michael Abels, Terence Blanchard, Valerie Coleman, Xavier Foley, Jimmy Lopez, Jessie Montgomery, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Carlos Simon.

Members of the Sphinx Virtuosi have performed as soloists with major American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. Members also hold professional orchestral and academic positions. The Sphinx Virtuosi’s community engagement initiatives regularly extend beyond masterclasses and workshops to members leading DEI initiatives within arts organizations and connecting with other Sphinx programming to further the mission of achieving excellence through diversity. As a bilingual ensemble, these artist-citizens frequently break down existing barriers empowering the artform to connect with the broader community. During the pandemic in 2020/21 the ensemble found creative ways to connect with audiences and communities virtually through performances, panel discussions, masterclasses, Q&A sessions, and more reaching over 30,000 people across 20 organizations.

Hailed as an “astounding virtuoso” and “exhilarating” performer, percussionist Britton-René Collins is a winner of the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, receiving the Ambassador Prize for her exceptional musicianship and demonstrated passion for creating social change in her endeavors as both an educator and performer.

A Grand Prize winner of the 2022 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition and the 2021 Chicago International Music Competition, Collins has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Canada, and Europe. She has performed with several orchestras including the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Meridian Symphony Orchestra, the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her active solo career, she enjoys life as a chamber musician and co-director with her New York City-based groups “Excelsis Percussion Quartet” and “Vision Duo.”

As an advocate for new music, Collins is  involved in generating new solo and chamber works for multi-percussion and marimba. Most recently, she was the first percussionist to ever be awarded the prestigious Princeton University Mary Mackall Gwinn Hodder Fellowship (2024-2025). During her fellowship year, she will conduct research and commission new works by underrepresented composers as part of her 10-month appointment, “Sphygmology— Cultural Exchange for Solo Percussion,” at the Lewis Center for the Arts, which will culminate with her debut performance installation, “Sphygmology,” centered on desegregating Western Classical Music spaces through utilizing percussion as a medium for celebrating Black identity.

Born in the United States, Britton-René Collins began playing the piano at age five. She discovered percussion at eight years old when she became intrigued by the drum set. She quickly fell in love with playing rock, jazz, and pop music on the drum set, which ignited her enthusiasm to explore various percussion instruments and styles of music. She received her B.M. from the University of Toronto with Aiyun Huang, Beverley Johnston, and John Rudolph, where she won the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and performed the Canadian premiere of Sergei Golovko’s first marimba concerto alongside Maestro Uri Mayer and the UTSO. She received her M.M. from the University of Michigan, where her primary instructors were Doug Perkins and Ian Antonio.