courtesy of the MacArthur Foundation

Ypsilanti resident Aaron Dworkin, president and founder of the Sphinx Organization, has received a presidential appointment to the National Council on the Arts.

Dworkin holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in violin performance from the University of Michigan. His resume includes a long list of honors including a 2005 MacArthur Fellowship.

The council is an advisory body to the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. The 14-member group makes recommendations on grant applications, funding guidelines and policy matters. Members serve six-year terms and require Senate confirmation.

The Detroit-based Sphinx Organization is a national nonprofit group dedicated to increasing ethnic diversity in the world of classical music. It sponsors competitions and scholarships, provides instruments, and other programs.

The official statement from the White House reads, "Aaron Dworkin is a violinist, arts educator, and President of the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization, which he founded in 1996. The Sphinx Organization works to increase the number of minority students pursuing careers in classical music around the country through summer training programs for string players and music education outreach programs in Detroit public schools. A frequent speaker on youth and minority involvement and career development in classical music, Mr. Dworkin also serves as an advisor for several education and music organizations, including the University Musical Society and the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation. He was a 2005 MacArthur Fellow."

Dworkin's long list of activities includes serving as co-chair of the Arts and Cultural Education Task Force for the State of Michigan, designing the required arts curriculum for Michigan schools. He has served on the boards of the University Musical Society , the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, and the NEW (Non-Profit Enterprise at Work) Center, among others.

Dworkin is also a spoken-word and visual artist and a writer, author of an autobiographical poetry collection titled “They Said I Wasn’t Really Black” and a children’s book called “The 1st Adventure of Chilli Pepperz.”