On February 23, I attended the 17th annual Sphinx Competition held at the Detroit Orchestra Hall. The concert was phenomenal and, to my surprise, I really enjoyed the performance. The reason why the concert satisfied me was because the meaning was maintained throughout the concert. The Sphinx Orchestra is an extraordinary foundation that supports Black and Latino classical musicians and gives them a chance to improve their lives through the prodigious gift of scholarships. At this specific concert, the three finalists competed to see who truly had the greatest talent among the three. The three musicians included nineteen-year-old bassist Xavier Foley; twenty-one-year-old cellist Nicholas Mariscal; and twenty-year-old violinist Clayton Penrose-Whitmore. Every musician did an amazing job and seemed like they were playing their pieces perfectly. Although all young musicians have achieved simple perfection; there had to be a winner and it was Xavier Foley. He received fifty thousand dollars in scholarships and he richly deserved them. The conductor of the concert was maestro Brandon Keith Brown, who also did an astonishing job. In addition to all these great musicians, I also had the honor of hearing Simon Shaheen play the oud. Overall, the performance was simply amazing in my eyes. Each young musician did their own piece as well as Simon Shaheen. Xavier Foley performed an astonishing piece by Giovanni Bottesini. Xavier performed Concerto No. 2 in A minor: l. Allegro. Nicholas Mariscal has selected a piece by Sir Edward Elgar and his Concerto in E minor: lV. Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non troppo, which translates to Lively – Moderate – Lively, but not too much. Clayton Penrose-Whitmore designated a... middle of paper ...... while playing the double bass, this nickname being "Paganini of the double bass". This individual did things with three strings that most people on the planet couldn't do with hundreds. His movements were so fluid and he had the greatest talent anyone could think of. This particular play was written to fulfill a romance, and in my opinion, that's exactly what it did. Xavier Foley must have good musical taste to choose such a wonderful song. The 17th Annual Sphinx Orchestra Final Competition Concert changed my perspective on classical music. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and might even consider attending next year's. The young musician had incredible talent and the orchestra was equally incredible. I applaud the Sphinx Orchestra for putting on a performance so miraculous that anyone could enjoy a classical concert..