Hermitage Announces Full Line-Up of Hermitage Greenfield Prize Weekend Celebration Events

March 16, 2022 – Sarasota

The Hermitage Artist Retreat, in collaboration with the Greenfield Foundation, presents the 14th annual Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration Weekend, April 8-10, 2022, culminating in the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner on Sunday, April 10, with a live performance of Angélica Negrón’s work by Grammy Award-Winning cellist Nick Photinos, and a special guest performance by Tony Award-Winning Hermitage Fellow Gavin Creel (The Book of Mormon; Hair; Hello, Dolly!). Limited seats are available for this nearly sold-out gala dinner. For tables and sponsorships, visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org, or contact Development Director Amy Wallace at Development@HermitageArtistRetreat.org or (941) 475-2098, Ext. 2.

This year’s weekend of events begins on Friday, April 8 with “A Theater Maker’s Year: What ‘Went Down’” (6pm at New College of Florida) with 2021 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner Aleshea Harris. Then, on Saturday, April 9, the Hermitage presents two events, one virtual and one live: “Angélica Negrón: The Journey, The Work, The Inspiration” (3pm, virtual event) features the 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner, whose innovative music compositions have been described as “playful and inventive” by The New York Times. That evening, Hermitage Greenfield Prize Jurors Terrance McKnight, host of WQXR New York Public Radio, and Gary Padmore, Director of Education and Community Engagement at the New York Philharmonic, are joined by Sarasota’s own Nate Jacobs, Founder and Artistic Director of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, for a panel discussion entitled “Artistic License: Whose Story Is It?” (6pm on the Hermitage Beach).                                

In addition to the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration Weekend in April, past HGP recipient and Pulitzer Prize Winner Martyna Majok (2018, theater) presented “Building a Play” in early March, plus 2019 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner Helga Davis (music) presents a live premiere of her commission, “Ocean Body,” at the Hermitage on Saturday, March 19 at 6pm.

Registration is required for all events at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

The Hermitage Greenfield Prize – rotating annually between music, theater, and visual art — includes a six-week Hermitage residency and a $30,000 commission to create and develop a new work, which culminates with a public presentation in Sarasota. The Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration is presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation, with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County serving as Lead Community Sponsor. For more information, visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

The Weekend Schedule of Events:

• LIVE: “A Theater Maker’s Year: What ‘Went Down’” with Playwright & Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner Aleshea Harris, Friday, April 8, 6pm: To launch this year’s Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration Weekend, 2021 recipient Aleshea Harris returns to Sarasota to share her theatrical journey over the past year and the latest plans for her commission. Focused on the lives of two Black men a century apart, both subject to confinement and surveillance at the hands of western civilization, her work seeks to honor tragedy without losing sight of the levity that just might light a way forward. Presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org ($5/person registration fee). New College of Florida (Campus Bayfront), Sarasota, Florida 34243.
  
  
• VIRTUAL EVENT: “Angélica Negrón: The Journey, The Work, The Inspiration,” Saturday, April 9, 3pm: Angélica Negrón, winner of the 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize in music, is equally at home composing for orchestras and chamber ensembles as she is for toys and electronics. Her music has been described as “playful and inventive” (The New York Times) as well as “mesmerizing and affecting” (Feast of Music). In a live virtual event featured as part of this year’s Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration Weekend, hear from one of the most innovative musicians working today as she discusses her journey so far, her body of work, and her hopes for this new commission. This conversation will be moderated by Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. Presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org ($5/household registration fee). Virtual via Live-Stream.
  
  
• LIVE: “Artistic License: Whose Story Is It?” with 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Jurors Terrance McKnight and Gary Padmore, Saturday, April 9, 6pm: Who has the right to tell a story? Where do the distinctions between art and documentary change the rules? As part of the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration Weekend, two of the jurors for this year’s prize in music, Terrance McKnight (classical music host on WQXR) and Gary Padmore (Director of Education and Community Engagement at the New York Philharmonic), along with Sarasota’s own Nate Jacobs (Founder and Artistic Director of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe), take an illuminating dive into authentic authorship. Hear from these insightful thought-leaders as they bring their personal expertise and experience to bear on one of the most important artistic questions of our time. This panel discussion will be moderated by Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg. Presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org ($5/person registration fee). The Hermitage Beach, 6660 Manasota Key Road, Englewood, Florida 34223.
  
  
• 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner: A Celebration of Music, Sunday, April 10, 6pm: The 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner: A Celebration of Music recognizes this year’s recipient, composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón, with a special cello performance of Angélica’s work by Grammy Award Winner Nick Photinos, plus a special guest performance by Tony Award-Winning Hermitage Fellow Gavin Creel. Presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Limited seats available for this gala dinner at Michael’s On East (1212 S. East Ave., Sarasota, FL 34239). For tables and sponsorships, visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org, or call (941) 475-2098, Ext. 2.