While the graying of American classical music audiences gets the most media and insider attention, there's another concern that might be more crucial to its future:

African-American and Latino musicians make up less than 5 percent of all musicians in the nation's orchestras yet comprise a combined 27 percent of the United States population, according to the Sphinx Organization, a music advocacy group founded in 1996 to promote diversity in classical music.

Aaron Dworkin, Sphinx's founder, knows that the top-down approach used by his Detroit-based organization can make an impact. Since 1996, it reports that there has been a 50 percent increase in the number of black musicians in top-tier American orchestras. Sphinx's annual solo competition and its partnering with ensembles such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to place solo musicians and other awareness efforts have helped.

"But there is a lot more to be done, considering the gravity of the issue," Dworkin says.

Another group that formed just a year after Sphinx also is having an impact. Imani Winds is ascending the classical music ladder to stardom and is inspiring black and Latino performers along the way. Performing tomorrow in Pittsburgh, this time presented by the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society, Imani was formed in 1997 specifically as a woodwind quintet of musicians of color by its flutist and resident composer Valerie Coleman.

"She had in mind that we should be interpreters of the repertoire and role models," says Monica Ellis, the group's bassoonist and a graduate of Schenley High School who also trained at CAPA. "But from the very beginning the quality of the music is of the utmost point." For the latter, they've won an ASCAP Award and have been nominated for a Grammy, and critical accolades follow them everywhere they play.

"The benefit of their success goes far beyond their success as a group," says Dworkin. "We used to hear that 'I would love to diversify, but the talent is not out there.' [But] when presenters and audience have good experiences with them there is less of a risk with other groups of color."

Classical music institutions have traditionally viewed diversity efforts on stage and in the audience as secondary or supplementary to their mission. But Dworkin makes the case that such efforts might help to save the industry by building a new economy around classical music.

"Imagine if, through building diversity in black and Latino cultures, we developed from 2 to 4 percent in classical recording sales and other things," he says. "Diversity is not only a good thing, it is something classical music requires. If we can have classical music have more widespread cultural appeal, the more jobs there will be. There were times when orchestras were heavily German and had to expand out."

Larry Tamburri, president of the PSO, is committed to addressing the issue. The orchestra books a Sphinx competition laureate for a community concert each year.

"The PSO has been one of our most active partners," says Dworkin.

But that is only part of the PSO's general diversity plan. Another came three years ago when the ensemble created its own program to mentor young African-American musicians.

"I couldn't be more enthusiastic about this program," says Tamburri. "In just three years the applicant pool has increased over 87 percent." Last season, oboist Geoffrey Johnson was a fellow; this year the PSO will mentor bassist James Stroup, who will perform occasionally with it in subscription concerts.

"James is a wonderful player -- eager to learn and highly motivated," says PSO principal bassist Jeffrey Turner. "The program approaches the problems from the right angles. It attempts to make it so that James can succeed on his own merits at an orchestra audition, and that is a very desirable goal for all of us."

Imani Winds promotes composers of color through its five-year Legacy Commissioning Project. Ten new works are expected from different points of the globe, with the composers bringing experience not only in classical music, but jazz, Middle Eastern, Latin and "harder to define" sounds.

"We wanted to show that traditional labels are obsolete," says Ellis. The group has premiered works by composers such as Alvin Singleton and Roberto Sierra. "Building repertoire is how we will sustain ourselves."

"Classical music has been about change," she adds. "We put Bach, Mozart, Beethoven in a pile, but there are years between them and they are different. When we began, we started with the traditional wind quintet repertoire. We need to do something different here."

Monday's program includes a piece by Coleman ("Portraits of Josephine Baker") and her arrangement of Santamaria's "Afro Blue." Also on the program are Husa's "Five Poems," Schifrin's "La Nouvelle Orleans," Ligeti's "Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet" and Piazzolla's "Libertango."

Ellis and the rest of Imani Winds know that how they play is just as important as programming if they want to make an impact in the cultural composition of classical music.

"Whether you are black, white or purple, you still have to make a good reed to play the bassoon and play notes at a high level," she says. "Our race and heritage will [always] come first, and I am fine with that because the recognition of us as musicians comes so quickly after. When we walk on any stage, you see us before we play, but right away we play and people will hopefully say, this is great music."