Arts Leader Aaron Dworkin Speaks at Annual MLK Convocation

Aaron P. Dworkin, founder and president of the Sphinx Organization, a leading arts enterprise that focuses on youth development and diversity in classical music, will be keynote speaker at OCC’s Ninth Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Convocation.  The event takes place at the Orchard Ridge Campus, Wednesday, January 30 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.

A 2005 MacArthur Fellow, Dworkin was President Obama’s first appointment to the National Council on the Arts.   An author, social entrepreneur, performing artist and youth education advocate, he has received national recognition for his many accomplishments.

 A lifelong musician, Dworkin is an accomplished acoustic and electric violin virtuoso, as well as a spoken-word and visual artist.  His memoir, Uncommon Rhythm:  A Black, White, Jewish, Jehovah’s Witness, Irish Catholic Adoptee’s Journey to Leadership” was published recently.  He has also written an autobiographical poetry collection and a children’s book, produced and recorded CDs, and directed the independent film “Deliberation.”

 Filling out this year’s program is a performance by the Detroit Children’s Choir, and organization established to help children in grades 3 to 8 gain self-confidence, social and political awareness and academic skills.