About
Founded in 2018 in Raleigh, NC (Incorporated in 2022), United Strings of Color is a non-profit organization that addresses racial disparity in classical music through education and community engagement. Over the years, United Strings of Color (USC) has transformed from a single string quartet into a community-driven force for inclusivity and cultural enrichment, consistently promoting peace and unity through the power of music.
Community engagement is at the heart of USC’s mission and the group has consistently brought live music to local venues. The USC Quartet has performed at Raleigh's African American Cultural Festival each year 2019-2023, with the Durham Symphony, at the North Carolina Museum of Art, at the African American Cultural Celebration sponsored by the North Carolina Museum of History in 2022 and 2023, for Cary's Kwanzaa Celebration, for the 2021, 2022, and 2023 Juneteenth Celebrations at Dix Park in Raleigh, for the local Omega Psi Phi Quiz Bowl, for the Raleigh-Wake Chapter of Jack and Jill, multiple area churches and art galleries, and for Raleigh's Boys and Girls Club. The group has also been featured as a My Brother’s and Sister's Keeper partner.
Over their history, the quartet has studied and performed music by under-represented female composers, including two African Americans, Florence Price and Undine Smith Moore; prepared a concert of music with African connections; and presented impactful social justice concerts. After the death of Elijah McClain, an amateur violinist, musicians around the country began holding Violin Vigils. United Strings of Color wanted to follow suit in response to our current time of reckoning and desire for societal transformation. The USC Violin Vigils were unique in that they incorporated poetry and music to commemorate Black lives lost and to call for equal justice for all. In 2021, USC performed five Vigils including for the Day of Enlightenment (May 25th) and for the Inaugural Juneteenth Celebration at Dix Park. The review of our May 1 Vigil by Classical Voice North Carolina stated: “There’s hope for our nation, when there are youngsters like these poets and instrumentalists who are prepared to propel us into a more united, more peaceful future.”
In fall 2021, USC premiered a rendition of a Yoruba folktale as imagined by local jazz artist and composer, Elmer Gibson. The premiere was held at the North Carolina Museum of Art on October 16. From Classical Voice North Carolina reviewer, Kelsey Carlisle: "When the day began, I expected to attend a concert and go home after. I was surprised to find out this would be one of the most informative, immersive, profound, and moving experiences of my artistic life." USC went on to perform "Ijapa and Mr. Igbin" for the fall festival at Pure Life Theatre, for Halloween at Pullen Arts Center, for Kwanzaa in Cary, for the African American Cultural Celebration, and for Black Brilliance in a Wake County Public Library. In 2024, the new Intermediate Group performed the work in the Cary Arts Center Theatre, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and West Regional library.
From the Cultural Voice North Carolina review of the 2022 performance at the African American Cultural Festival: "The quartet moved with unbelievable ease and maturity when expressing the different styles in such a varied program."
USC continues to study music by African American composers including Anthony Kelly and DBR (aka Daniel Bernard Roumain). The Quartet was a featured soloist for the final 75th Anniversary Concert of NCStateLive!, on April 15, 2023, playing the "Race" movement from DBR's Third Quartet dedicated to Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. They premiered a commissioned work by local composer, Elmer Gibson, in September 2023 entitled "Evoking the Spirit of Hambone". In 2026 USC member helped present a new Dance-Opera, the Magic of the Water, by Dr. Andrea E. Woods Valdés at Duke University.
In 2025 and 2026 USC was pleased to be awarded Community Spotlight Grants from the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County. Our project was Conversations Between Four Black Abolitionist Music Makers in 2025 and for Three Partnerships That Elevated Black Classical Music in 2026.
Membership
United Strings of Color Quartet
2018 -19: Kennedy Mitchell and Felicia Adizue, violins; Jolie Duquene, viola; and Lexi Etienne, cello.
2019-20: Kennedy Mitchell and CT Thomas, violins; Kenza Ngatchou, viola; and Lexi Etienne, cello.
2020-21: Kennedy Mitchell and CT Thomas, violins; Sterling Elliott, viola; and Lexi Etienne, cello.
2021-22: Tayla Murphy and CT Thomas, violins; Sterling Elliott, viola; and Lexi Etienne, cello.
2022-23: Felicia Adizue and CT Thomas, violins; Sterling Elliott viola; and Lexi Etienne, cello
2023-24: Sofia Gee and CT Thomas, violins; Sterling Elliott viola; and Lexi Etienne, cello
2024-25: Sofia Gee, CT Thomas, Amara Izuakor, Anulika Izuakor, violins; Zion Anderson, cello
2025-26: Amara Izuakor violin and Zion Anderson, cello (a duo)
United Strings of Color Intermediate Group
2023-24: Amara Izuakor, violin; Anulika Izuakor, viola; Zion Anderson, cello; Stephen Anderson, piano.
2024-25: Jada Starr, Armand Etienne, Johanna Piquant, Lexi Todd violins; Delaney Etienne, Langston Scott-Miller cello.
2025-26: Jada Starr, Armand Etienne violins; Delaney Etienne, cello; Zay Salifou, bass.
United Strings of Color Junior Group
2022-23: Jada Starr, Armand Etienne, Anulika Izuakor, Amara Izuakor and Regan Stringfield, violins; Nia Stringfield, viola; Delaney Etienne, cello.
2023-24: Jada Starr, Armand Etienne, Johanna Piquant violins; Delaney Etienne, cello.
United Strings of Color Alumni Quartet
2025-26: Felicia and Sofia Gee, violins, Sterling Elliott, viola and Lexi Etienne, cello.
