Emi Ferguson to Perform at Crosby Alumni Music Series in Sarasota

The Hermitage Artist Retreat has announced the fifth annual concert in the Ruby E. Crosby Alumni Music Series at the Hermitage, featuring Juilliard-trained flutist and Hermitage alumna Emi Ferguson. This event will take place on Thursday, March 5 at 7pm at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (Downtown Sarasota).

This alumni music initiative was launched in 2022 to a full-capacity crowd at Selby Gardens with “Soulful Strings: An Evening of Harp Music,” featuring celebrated harpist and Hermitage alumna Ashley Jackson.

The 2023 concert, “The Pop-Rock-Folk World of Zoe Sarnak,” featured award-winning New York City-based Hermitage alumna Zoe Sarnak, with Sarasota-based vocalists and musicians performing Sarnak's original songs at Nathan Benderson Park. The 2024  concert, “Piano Classics Remade,” featured world-renowned pianist and Hermitage alumnus Conrad Tao performing for a sold-out crowd at Selby Gardens. Last year's concert, “Piano in the Key of Vijay,” featured Grammy Award-nominated composer and past Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Vijay Iyer.

This year, the Ruby E. Crosby Alumni Music Series at the Hermitage continues this popular series with Julliard-trained flutist and Hermitage Fellow Emi Ferguson.  Ferguson is on a mission to shake up classical music. Whether playing modern or historical flutes, singing, composing, or speaking about music, she brings centuries of music to life with an adventurous spirit and a fresh perspective. Her performances, ranging from Baroque masterpieces to brand-new commissions are anything but predictable, blending historical performance with a fearless, modern edge.

English-American flutist and composer Ferguson stretches the boundaries of what is expected of modern-day musicians. Her unique approach to the flute can be heard in performances that alternate between silver flute, auxiliary flutes, and historical flutes, playing repertoire that stretches from the Renaissance to today. Ferguson is a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant awardee and can be heard live in concerts and festivals around the world as a soloist and with groups including AMOC*, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Manhattan Chamber Players. Emi was a featured performer alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon, and James Taylor at the 10th Anniversary Memorial Ceremony of 9/11 at Ground Zero, where her performance of “Amazing Grace” was televised worldwide. Ferguson returns to the Hermitage after a previous “Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens” program in 2024, and a performance at the 2023 Artful Lobster.