The Hermitage Artist Retreat announces the newest program in its “Hermitage Sunsets @ Benderson Park” series, an ongoing partnership with Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy that was established in 2023. The new program, presented in partnership with ensembleNewSRQ and Key Chorale, is scheduled for Wednesday, December 3rd at 5pm, featuring Shawn Allison, a musician, composer, and frequent collaborator with ensembleNewSRQ; and Tom Lubben, a performer, musician, and member of the Lubben Brothers, a folk trio developing music with Key Chorale. Both talented artists were selected for the fourth year of the Hermitage Cross Arts Collaborative program, supporting Sarasota’s thriving arts scene by offering performing artists at collaborating institutions the gift of time and space to focus on generating new works of their own creation. The Hermitage Cross Arts Collaborative, made possible with generous support from the Koski Family Foundation, is designed to give frequent performers and company members from leading Sarasota arts organizations a chance to expand their artistic practice from ‘performer’ to ‘creator.’
Shawn Allison’s compositions have been described as “playful and inventive” (Chicago Sun-Times), “vividly imagistic” (Lucid Culture), “smartly crafted,” “lyrical, otherworldly,” and “intriguing” (Chicago Classical Review). Shawn seeks to connect listeners to shared emotional spaces via evocative images and symbols with mythical significance. He and his wife, pianist Abbey Allison, serve together as music co-directors at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples, and he is currently a visiting professor at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Tom Lubben, along with his two triplet brothers, is a founding member of The Lubben Brothers, musicians pioneering original music rich in lyrical sensitivity, vocal harmonies, and the timeless, multicultural American folk tradition. For the past several years, Tom Lubben has collaborated with Joseph Caulkins and Key Chorale to create the musical program “American Storytellers,” which resurrects iconic moments in American popular music and celebrates their timelessness and relevancy. The focus of this project reaches the deepest roots of what made the Lubben Brothers who they are and has become one of the most rewarding projects Tom has adopted. Lubben has also written book, lyrics, and music for several musicals, and he has created many arrangements for he and his brothers to perform. With deep roots both in the Celtic and classical worlds, the Lubben Brothers tour nationally and have a growing catalogue of music streaming on every digital platform.
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.