HERMITAGE SUNSETS @ BENDERSON PARK to Feature 2025 Cross Arts Collaborative Fellows
The program will spotlight Sarasota-based artists Shawn Allison and Tom Lubben in partnership with ensembleNewSRQ and Key Chorale.
By: A.A. Cristi Oct. 20, 2025
The Hermitage Artist Retreat has announced the first installment of this season’s “Hermitage Sunsets @ Benderson Park” series, presented in partnership with Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy.
The upcoming event will take place on Wednesday, December 3 at 5 p.m., featuring performances and new works from Shawn Allison of ensembleNewSRQ and Tom Lubben of Key Chorale.
The program highlights the 2025 Hermitage Cross Arts Collaborative Fellows, an initiative designed to support Sarasota’s vibrant performing arts community by providing artists with time and space to focus on original creation. Now in its fourth year, the Cross Arts Collaborative is made possible through the generous support of the Koski Family Foundation and fosters creative growth among performers from Sarasota’s leading arts institutions.
Past seasons of Hermitage Sunsets @ Benderson Park have featured acclaimed Hermitage artists such as playwright and performer Madeline Sayet, dramatists Terry Guest and James Anthony Tyler, and composers Kamala Sankaram, Etienne Charles, Chris Ryan Williams, and Amir ElSaffar, as well as award-winning songwriter Zoe Sarnak.
About the Artists
Shawn Allison is a composer, musician, and frequent collaborator with ensembleNewSRQ. His compositions have been described as “playful and inventive” (Chicago Sun-Times) and “vividly imagistic” (Lucid Culture). His work seeks to connect listeners through shared emotional and symbolic landscapes. In addition to his role as visiting professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, he and his wife, pianist Abbey Allison, serve as music co-directors at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples.
Tom Lubben, a founding member of The Lubben Brothers, performs alongside his two triplet brothers, pioneering original music rooted in lyrical storytelling, vocal harmony, and multicultural American folk traditions. Lubben has collaborated with Key Chorale and conductor Joseph Caulkins on American Storytellers, a musical program celebrating iconic moments in American popular music. He has also written book, lyrics, and music for several musicals and created arrangements for The Lubben Brothers, who continue to tour nationally.
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