(SARASOTA, FL) — The Hermitage Artist Retreat, in collaboration with the Philadelphia-based Greenfield Foundation, has selected innovative composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón as the winner of the 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize (HGP), awarded this year in the artistic discipline of music. Negrón will receive a six-week Hermitage Fellowship and a $30,000 commission to create a new work of music, which will have its first public presentation in Sarasota in 2024.
Born in Puerto Rico, Negrón writes original music for accordions, robotic instruments, toys, and electronics, as well as chamber ensembles and orchestras. She is a founding member of the tropical electronic band Balún, and her music has been performed at the Kennedy Center and the 2016 New York Philharmonic Biennial. Negrón has composed scores for the New York Botanical Gardens (Chorus of the Forest, 2019) and for Opera Philadelphia (The Island We Made, 2020), as well as the documentary films Landfall (2020) and Memories of a Penitent Heart (2016). Additional commissions and premieres of her compositions include works for the LA Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic Project 19 initiative.
Hermitage Greenfield Prize recipients and finalists are nominated and selected by a jury of nationally recognized arts leaders. The 2022 jury included Terrance McKnight (chair), host of WQXR New York Public Radio and a member of the Hermitage National Curatorial Council; Jessie Montgomery, an award-winning composer, violinist, and educator; and Gary Padmore, Director of Education and Community Engagement at the New York Philharmonic.
Three finalists for the 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize include Etienne Charles, a jazz trumpeter and composer (Creole Soul, Petite Afrique, and Carnival: The Sound of a People Vol. 1); Curtis Stewart, a genre-bending violinist who has performed with Wyclef Jean and Stevie Wonder, and at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall; and Mazz Swift, a violin and freestyle composition artist who has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall, and with Whitney Houston, William Parker, and D'Angelo. All three will receive a Hermitage Fellowship, in addition to a prize of $1,000.
"Angélica Negrón's music places value in the softest, most vulnerable, and most frequently overlooked instruments in the room," says Terrance McKnight. "In her scores, even the robots find a pulse. Her compositional insight is the heartbeat of true democracy, and I am thrilled to introduce her to the Hermitage community."
"Angelica is uniquely creative and unswayed by trends," says Jessie Montgomery. "She has her own individual voice, helping to push the needle for artists to stay open and creative in the field of music."
"Angélica's musical language and style reflect a deep passion for the joys and realities of this world," says Gary Padmore. "I am so excited for the ways in which this Hermitage Greenfield Prize will help to amplify and celebrate her creative voice."
"I'm beyond honored to receive this year's Hermitage Greenfield Prize and incredibly thrilled to have the chance to work on such a dream project in such a dream setting with the support of the wonderful Greenfield Foundation," said Negrón upon hearing the news. "I'm looking forward to engaging with Sarasota's community and together exploring what new things we can discover when we take the time to pause, notice, and listen deeply.
Negrón's intended commission seeks to engage the senses and encourage listeners to resist distractions. Her composition will be timed with the setting sun and inspired partly by the sun's low-frequency sounds, as captured by scientists from NASA and the European Space Agency. The piece will feature slowly evolving musical textures, shifting patterns, natural sounds, and changes in scale and dimension that play with the unfolding gradations of light and color on the surrounding land, water, and sky. Negrón hopes her commissioned work will serve as a gentle reminder to the audience to seek out and surrender to moments of inspiration.
"Amidst an extraordinary selection of finalists, Angélica Negrón stood out as an innovative and forward-thinking composer who impressed this year's jury with her inventive and inspired approach to musical composition," says Hermitage Artistic Director Andy Sandberg. "Her dedication to her craft embodies the mission of the Hermitage Greenfield Prize — to bring into the world works of art that have a significant impact on the broad as well as the artistic culture of our society. We thank our distinguished jurors for their passion and dedication, and we congratulate all of our brilliant finalists, whom we look forward to welcoming at the Hermitage. We look forward to recognizing Angélica's work in Sarasota at the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner in April, and subsequently hosting her as a Hermitage Fellow and sharing the first public presentation of her composition in Sarasota in 2024."
Negrón will be celebrated at the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner on Sunday, April 10th at 6:00pm at Michael's On East in Sarasota. Capacity will be limited to accommodate safe social-distancing practices, and additional health and safety measures are anticipated for this event. Tables and sponsorships now available; additional information can be found at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
In addition to the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner on April 10th, the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration is also expected to include talks with this year's winner and jurors. This year will also mark the Sarasota premiere of "Ocean Body" created and performed by 2019 Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Helga Davis, presented in collaboration with Ensemble New SRQ and New College of Florida. The anticipated presentation of Pulitzer Prize and Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Martyna Mayok's new play, in partnership with Asolo Rep, was postponed due to COVID, and is also expected for 2022 at a date to be announced. The Hermitage Greenfield Prize Celebration is presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation, with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County serving as the lead Community Sponsor.
In addition to the Hermitage Greenfield Prize, the Hermitage Artist Retreat earlier last year introduced the annual Hermitage Major Theater Award (HMTA), newly established to recognize a playwright or theater artist with a $35,000 commission to create a new, original, and impactful piece of theater. Playwright and director Radha Blank (The Forty-Year-Old Version on Netflix) was named the inaugural recipient of the Hermitage Major Theater Award in December of 2021.
For more information about the Hermitage, the Hermitage Greenfield Prize, and upcoming Hermitage programs, visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
The Hermitage Greenfield Prize (HGP) is a groundbreaking partnership between the Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Greenfield Foundation. Rotating between the fields of music, theater, and visual art, this prestigious national prize seeks to "bring into the world works of art that will have a significant impact on the broader or artistic culture." The Hermitage Greenfield Prize is awarded annually and includes a Hermitage Fellowship, as well as a $30,000 commission for a new piece of work to be created within a two-year time frame. A residency at the Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key in Englewood, Florida, ensures time and space in which to do the work. Past Hermitage Greenfield Prize winners include Aleshea Harris, Theater (2021); Jennifer Packer, Visual Art (2020); Helga Davis, Music (2019); Martyna Majok, Theater (2018); David Burnett, Visual Photography (2017); Coco Fusco, Visual Art (2016); Bobby Previte, Music (2015); Nilo Cruz, Theater (2014); Trenton Doyle Hancock, Visual Art (2013); Vijay Iyer, Music (2012); John Guare, Theater (2011); Sanford Biggers, Visual Art (2010); Craig Lucas, Theater (2009); and Eve Beglarian, Music (2009).
The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Sarasota County, Florida)- Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO. The Hermitage is a non-profit artist retreat located in Manasota Key, Florida, inviting accomplished artists across multiple disciplines for residencies on its beachfront campus, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hermitage artists are invited to interact with the local community, reaching thousands of Gulf Coast residents and visitors each year with unique and inspiring programs. Hermitage Fellows have included 14 Pulitzer Prize winners, Poets Laureate, MacArthur ‘Genius' Fellows, and multiple Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar winners and nominees. Works created at this beachside retreat by a diverse group of Hermitage alumni have gone on to renowned theaters, concert halls, and galleries throughout the world. Each year, the Hermitage awards the $30,000 Hermitage Greenfield Prize for a new work of art, the newly announced $35,000 Hermitage Major Theater Award for an original theater commission, and the Aspen Music Festival's Hermitage Prize in Composition.
Hermitage programs are supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts; by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues; and by the Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council of Arts and Culture and the State of Florida (Section 286.25 Florida Statutes), as well as the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
