The Hermitage Artist Retreat today announced new March programs in Sarasota, Venice, Boca Grande, and Bradenton. Continuing its commitment to innovative year-round arts programming, these events will be presented throughout Florida’s Gulf Coast region. Hermitage programs celebrate works-in-process from world-renowned artists through musical performances, candid conversations, theatrical presentations, literary readings, dance performances, and more. Each of these hour-long Hermitage programs offers a completely different experience, providing the Gulf Coast community a rare glimpse into innovative works and the creative process behind them. In recent years, the Hermitage has continued to expand the geographic reach and impact of these unique programs.
On Monday, March 3rd, James Nyoraku Schlefer returns to Sarasota for three separate performances of “Schlefer on Shakuhachi: Ancient Flute in Modern Times.” The first two daytime programs are a part of the Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning’s (SILL’s) “Music Mondays” series, which offers program attendees new insights and fresh perspectives on the careers of professional musicians. Performances are at 10:30am at the Church of the Palms in Sarasota and 3pm at Venice Presbyterian Church.
Please note the two SILL programs are not part of the Hermitage’s traditional free programming. The first two presentations of “Schlefer on Shakuhachi” are hosted by the Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning (SILL) as a part of the “Music Mondays” series. $15 single tickets are available at the door for this special event with James Nyoraku Schlefer.
That same evening, in a special sunset program on Boca Grande, Schlefer will meld the ancient sounds of the shakuhachi with the waves on Monday, March 3rd at 6pm at the Gasparilla Island State Park – Range Lighthouse on Boca Grande. James Nyoraku Schlefer’s Hermitage Residency is generously sponsored by Alice & David Court.
Registration for the 6pm program on Boca Grande is available through the Hermitage website: HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
Revered for its sonic as well as its spiritual resonance, the simple bamboo flute known as the shakuhachi has been an iconic part of Eastern culture since at least the Eighth Century. Hermitage Fellow James Nyoraku Schlefer is one of the few non-Japanese practitioners who has achieved the rank of Grand Master, blending the instrument’s essential traditions with contemporary Western instrumentation while still honoring what many consider its meditative properties. A scholar as well as a performer, join this uniquely gifted Hermitage Fellow, learn more about the history of the shakuhachi, and hear this magical instrument played by one of its greatest living practitioners.
On Monday, March 10th at 6:30pm, the Hermitage presents its first program at the Manatee Performing Arts Center in Bradenton. From Tony Award winners like Jeanine Tesori, Michael R. Jackson, and Doug Wright, to generative artists and composers revolutionizing the form like Adam Gwon, Zoe Sarnak, Rona Siddiqui, and more, the Hermitage provides space and time to some of the most exciting musical theater writers working today. Hear selections from acclaimed Hermitage composers, librettists, and lyricists, performed by the Gulf Coast’s finest talents at this special program in Manatee County. In addition to the works themselves, “Songs from the Sand: An Evening of Hermitage Music” provides audiences with the opportunity to hear little-known stories about the creation of some of New York theater’s recent success stories and insights into the creative process.
Next up on Thursday, March 13th at 6pm, Hermitage Fellow and author Jamila Minnicks will present “Moonrise Over New Work” at Bookstore1 in downtown Sarasota. Minnicks’ debut novel Moonrise Over New Jessup won the 2021 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, the 2024 Black Caucus for the American Library Association First Novelist Award, and the 2023 Southern Literary Review Book of the Year. The novel boldly questions the value of integration and acceptance if it means losing the comfort that separation has created. Hear selections from this incredible story, read by the author, and get a taste of where this gifted writer will take you in her next novel as she works to complete it while in residence at the Hermitage. Jamila Minnicks’ Hermitage Residency is generously sponsored by Georgia Court & Robin Radin.
All Hermitage programs are free and open to the public (with a $5/person registration fee), offering Gulf Coast audiences a rare chance to engage and interact with some of the world’s leading talent. Due to capacity limitations, registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org. (The two SILL programs in Sarasota and Venice are not part of the Hermitage registration.)