The Hermitage Artist Retreat Presents “Music Elevating the Soul”

June 28, 2021 – Sarasota

Join two of the nation’s leading and most versatile musicians—celebrated pianist and composer Courtney Bryan and renowned harpist Ashley Jackson—as they share their original work and speak about their creative process, Friday, July 30, 6:30 p.m., at the Hermitage Artist Retreat, 6660 Manasota Key Road,

Englewood. Registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org. (Free with a $5 per person registration fee.) Ashley Jackson’s Hermitage residency is generously sponsored by The Ruby E. & Carole Crosby Family Foundation.

Courtney Bryan, a native of New Orleans and a returning Hermitage Fellow, is “a pianist and composer of panoramic interests” (The New York Times). Her music is in conversation with various musical genres, including jazz and other types of experimental music, as well as traditional gospel, spirituals, and hymns. Bryan focuses on bridging the sacred and the secular, and her compositions explore human emotions through sound, confronting the challenge of notating the feeling of improvisation. Her work has been presented in a wide range of venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, La MaMa Experimental Theatre, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Blue Note Jazz Club, Walt Disney Concert Hall, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and many more.  Bryan has given music workshops at various universities, including Princeton University, Columbia University, Harvard University, Berklee College of Music, and California Institute of the Arts, and has helped design programs that guide young people to improvise, compose, and work with music technology.

Praised for her rhythmic precision and dynamic range, harpist and Hermitage Fellow Ashley Jackson enjoys a multifaceted career as a highly sought-after musician and collaborator in New York and beyond. As a highly versatile artist, she has developed a unique “groove beyond gentility” on her instrument. As an orchestral harpist, Dr. Jackson performs with the New York Philharmonic, Metropolis Ensemble, the Qatar Philharmonic, and is the principal harpist of NOVUS NY, the contemporary music orchestra of Trinity Wall Street. She appears regularly with the Harlem Chamber Players, and has recently joined Ensemble Échappé, a flexible group of soloists dedicated to performing works from the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Jackson has appeared on stages in New York and around the world, including Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, Park Avenue Armory, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sala São Paulo, and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China. Throughout her academic and professional careers, Dr. Jackson has demonstrated a commitment to diversity and inclusion within higher education and the performing arts, firmly believing that a deeper understanding of cultural and ethnic diversity is critical to intellectual and artistic development. 

Previously Announced – Family Friendly Workshop on July 17!

Saturday, July 17, 11 a.m.: The five winners of this year’s Florida State Teacher Artist Residency program (STARs) at the Hermitage Artist Retreat will give presentations and lead hands-on music, writing, and visual art activities for audiences of all ages on the Great Lawn at the Hermitage. This free, family-friendly event is open to all ages, with particular appeal to middle and high school students. Guests will be invited to participate in ceramics, selfies, an environmental installation, and other creative activities.

For more information or to register for this event ($5 per adult; children and students under 18 are free), visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.