Young violinist finds culture, community in 2023 Sphinx Performance Academy at CIM

Violinist Katherine Mombo, 16, is no stranger to serious musical study. She’s been practicing and performing avidly since fifth grade, and has appeared at Carnegie Hall and won a prominent youth orchestra concerto competition.  

Still, her experience in the 2023 Sphinx Performance Academy (SPA) at CIM is something altogether new to her, for more than one reason.  

“I’ve never been anywhere where music is the focus the entire day,” said the rising high-school senior, a resident of Southbury, Conn.  

“Everyone at CIM is so dedicated, and they all bring something really different and unique to the table. It’s a really challenging environment.” 

On day two of the SPA, a two-week intensive presented in partnership with the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization (July 23-Aug. 5), Mombo’s favorite activity was Eurhythmics, a tried-and-true method of rhythm training long taught at CIM but new to her. 

She also was excited about the string quartet she and her SPA-mates were rehearsing: “Strum,” a 2006 work by Sphinx alumna -- and Mombo favorite -- Jessie Montgomery.  

For Mombo, though, SPA wasn’t all about the music, even if that’s what filled her days. No less inspiring to her was experiencing the racial diversity that attracted her to Sphinx in the first place, when she first encountered the Sphinx Competition.   

At CIM, as at the Competition, she wasn’t the only Black or Latinx musician in the room. Just the opposite, actually. Everyone from her teachers to her fellow students looked something liked her.  

“I had no idea classical music could be that diverse,” said Mombo, whose teacher at SPA was violinist Cailtin Edwards. “To have this community and share this experience [at CIM], it’s totally unmatched.” 

When Mombo talks about sharing, she’s referring to both herself and others. Paying forward the vital mentorship she received as a younger student, Mombo has lately taken on the role of mentor herself, teaching privately and through a program in her school district called Region 15 String Tutors.  

She plans to keep it up. Mombo’s vision is to pursue both music and business in college, and from there to build a career that involves teaching, performing, and entrepreneurship.  

Meanwhile, at SPA, Mombo planned to soak up everything she could, confident that someday, all of it will come in handy, to herself or others. 

At CIM, “They’re telling us what it takes to make it in this field in the twenty-first century,” Mombo said. “To think that I might be able to pass that down to younger students is just amazing to me.”