Hermitage Resumes Live Programming as Hurricane Repair Efforts Continue – New Fall Programs Announced

The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Sarasota County, Florida) announced that it will resume fall programming throughout the Gulf Coast region on October 28, with a full line-up of outdoor and indoor events through the end of the year. Though the impacts of Hurricane Ian took a significant toll on the Gulf-to-Bay campus, the organization has been working quickly to restore the buildings and grounds and has just welcomed artists back to its Manasota Key campus for the first time since the storm.

Newly announced November and December programs include partnerships with CreArte Latino, UnidosNow, New College of Florida, and the Johann Fust Library Foundation in Boca Grande. Featured artists and performers sharing their work include celebrated concert pianist Conrad Tao, nontraditional opera and sound installation composer Yvette Janine Jackson, acclaimed multidisciplinary artist Raquel Acevedo Klein, award-winning playwright and screenwriter Guadalís Del Carmen, 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner Angélica Negrón, Nigerian-born fiction author Chigozie Obioma, and New York Times heralded musician-composer Levy Lorenzo.

The aforementioned artists join previously announced October and November Hermitage programs. This week's program with Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Hermitage Fellow Michael R. Jackson has been moved online. "As the Musical Turns: A Soap Inspiration" on Friday, October 21st at 6pm ET, will also now feature soap opera icon Colleen Zenk, known for her role as Barbara Ryan on CBS long-running series "As the World Turns."

"Composition to Performance: Music Start to Finish" will mark the first live program at the Hermitage following the impact of the storm. Featuring composer Nkeiru Okoye and musician David 'Doc' Wallace, this event will be presented live on the Hermitage Beach on October 28th. On November 2nd, in a partnership with The Ringling Museum of Art, the Hermitage presents interdisciplinary artist and performer Richard Kennedy, followed on November 4th by the return of the popular "Hermitage @ Booker" series, resuming with "Reggie Harris and the Power of Music." [Full program details below]. November also marks the Hermitage Artful Lobster, the organization's annual fall fundraiser presented on the Hermitage grounds. This year's event on Saturday, November 12th features performances by Harris and award-winning theater composer and lyricist Adam Gwon.

"We have been working around the clock to bring the Hermitage campus back to life and resume operations, and we've been truly overwhelmed by the generous support from our extraordinary artists, audiences, donors, partners, and neighbors," said Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. "We are incredibly proud of our mission and the work we are doing to serve artists and our community. After two decades in existence, thousands of Hermitage champions have made it known that we are not going to let this storm bring down the Hermitage's spirit. It is moments like these when our community needs to come together most, and the arts are one of our most powerful tools for healing."

The newly announced programs in the Hermitage's 20th Anniversary Season pick up on Thursday, November 17th at 6pm with acclaimed pianist and Hermitage Fellow Conrad Tao. Tao, who Sarasota Orchestra audiences may remember from his acclaimed 2021-2022 Masterworks Series performance, offers insight into his latest work "Keyed In" and shares in-process excerpts of work. Seen on stage at some of the most prestigious concert halls around the world, Tao has been called a musician of "probing intellect and open-hearted vision" by The New York Times, who also cited him as "one of five classical music faces to watch" in the 2018-19 season; he is a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, and was named a Gilmore Young Artist - an honor awarded every two years highlighting the most promising American pianists of the new generation.

On Friday, November 18th at 2:30pm, New College of Florida hosts Hermitage Fellow and internationally produced composer Yvette Janine Jackson for a "Radio Opera Workshop" in which Jackson will share selections of what The Guardian calls "immersive, nonvisual films." Inspired by historical events and cultural realities, Jackson's work uses narrative created through sound to transport listeners to other worlds. This gifted composer shares insights about the nuances in the creation of sonic environments in addition to sharing work and discussing it with students and the public.

December programming kicks off on the Hermitage Beach with an exciting program highlighting the Hermitage's commitment to interdisciplinary work spanning music, visual art, and theater. "Multihyphenate Multimedia: Music, Visual Art, and Theater" features two incredible Hermitage artists whose talents cannot be contained by a single medium, style, or language. Raquel Acevedo Klein was named by The Washington Post as one of "2022's Classical Composers and Performers to Watch," and she is also an immensely talented visual artist. Award-winning playwright and screenwriter Guadalís Del Carmen creates original work across stage, television, and film that never shies away from the multifold perspectives of contentious issues, giving her audiences "no easy answers and no one to hate" while leaving them "more than a little entertained and a whole lot wiser" (ChicagoOnStage). See and hear original works from this incredible duo and dive into the unique, intersectional voices driving their work on Friday, December 2nd at 5pm as the sun sets over the Hermitage Beach.

On December 9th, acclaimed Puerto Rican composer and 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner Angélica Negrón presents a program showcasing the broad range of unconventional musical tools in her repertoire in addition to the conventional instruments found on orchestra stages around the world. Inspired by nature and the music all around her, Negrón's wide-ranging performance and compositional practice includes plants and found objects, often layering in vocals and other electronics in playful and creative ways. Be among the first to hear a demonstration from this revolutionary artist and learn about her creative process in "Angélica Negrón: Playing a Plant," on Friday, December 9th at 5pm on the Hermitage Great Lawn. This program is presented in partnership with CreArte Latino, ensembleNewSRQ, UnidosNow, and New Music New College. (Negrón's Hermitage Greenfield Prize commission is expected to culminate in an outdoor orchestral string performance in the spring of 2024, which will be presented in partnership with ensembleNewSRQ.)

The last scheduled program of 2022 - "Notes: On Writing and Music" - will take place on Thursday, December 15th on the Hermitage's Manasota Key beachfront, presented in partnership with the Johann Fust Library Foundation. Featuring two artists who both bring an international perspective, the program spans literature and music. Nigerian-born Chigozie Obioma, whose two novels The Fisherman and An Orchestra of Minorities were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize in Fiction, reads selections of his work and discusses his creative process. He is joined by Filipino-American musician, instrument designer, and returning Hermitage Fellow Levy Lorenzo, whose quirky and innovative work has been described as "a potent force on the side of exuberance, pleasure and awe of virtuosity" by The New York Times. Join these two incredible artists as the sun goes down on the Hermitage Beach, December 15th at 5pm.

On Saturday, November 12th, the Hermitage hosts the annual Artful Lobster: An Outdoor Celebration. Now in its 14th year, this signature event raises valuable funds for the Hermitage. In the aftermath of the storm, proceeds from the 2022 Artful Lobster will go toward campus repairs, in addition to providing support for the Hermitage's internationally renowned artist residency initiative and free community programming. The Artful Lobster is the only Hermitage benefit to take place on the grounds of the historic Gulf front campus - outdoors from 11:30am to 2pm beneath a large tent - located at 6660 Manasota Key Road in Englewood. Michael's On East offers a lobster feast, this year with performances from award-winning Hermitage Fellows Adam Gwon and Reggie Harris. Tickets for this fundraiser and sponsorship details can be found at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

"As we work through the Hermitage's ongoing recovery from the storm, we are more excited than ever for the dynamic range and scope of our fall program line-up, which speaks to the expansive diversity and creative talents of our brilliant Hermitage Fellows," adds Andy Sandberg. "Each one of these hour-long events is going to be a completely different experience in a variety of beautiful settings, offering our community a rare glimpse into innovative works in process. We are grateful to our partners and collaborators throughout the region, who help us to expand the geographic reach and impact of our Hermitage programming. We look forward to introducing the work of these visionary artists to thousands of new and returning audience members in this 20th Anniversary Season for these truly one-of-a-kind events."

Nearly all Hermitage programs are free and open to the public (with a $5/person registration fee), offering Gulf Coast audiences a chance to engage and interact with some of the world's leading talent. Due to capacity limitations and social distancing, registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

The Hermitage hosts artists on its Gulf Coast Manasota Key campus for multi-week residencies, where diverse artists from around the world and across multiple disciplines create and develop new works of theater, music, visual art, literature, and more. As part of their residencies, Hermitage Fellows participate in free community programs, offering audiences in the region a unique opportunity to engage with some of the world's leading artists and to get an authentic "sneak peek" into extraordinary projects and artistic minds before their works go on to major galleries, concert halls, theaters, and museums around the world. These free and innovative programs include performances, lectures, readings, interactive experiences, open studios, school programs, teacher workshops, and more, serving thousands in our regional community each year.

For more information about the Hermitage and upcoming programs, or to support the Hermitage's hurricane repair efforts, visit HermitagArtistRetreat.org.

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