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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Hermitage sunsets and Lichtenstein Nights

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October 9, 2020
By Marcy Shortuse
To the Editor: The Hermitage Artist Retreat and Marie Selby Botanical Gardens announce a new collaboration, “Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens,” launching with a five-program series as part of the 2020-2021 season. The outdoor series features performances and talks by Hermitage artists-in-residence and alumni. Four will take place at Selby Gardens’ downtown Sarasota campus; one […]

To the Editor:
The Hermitage Artist Retreat and Marie Selby Botanical Gardens announce a new collaboration, “Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens,” launching with a five-program series as part of the 2020-2021 season. The outdoor series features performances and talks by Hermitage artists-in-residence and alumni. Four will take place at Selby Gardens’ downtown Sarasota campus; one will be at Selby Gardens Historic Spanish Point campus. The series premieres with “Triple Current: Music of Arabia & America,” featuring the celebrated composer, santur player, jazz trumpeter and vocalist Amir ElSaffar, on Friday, Oct. 23, 6 p.m., on the northern grounds of the Selby Gardens Event Center. Admission is free, but registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org. Capacity will be limited to accommodate safe social distancing, so early reservations are recommended. Masks are strongly encouraged. 
The events in the inaugural season of “Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens” include:
• Friday, Oct. 23, 6 p.m., at Selby Gardens’ downtown Sarasota campus (at the northern grounds of the Events Center)
• Friday, Jan. 22, 5:30 p.m., at Selby Gardens’ downtown campus
• Wednesday, Feb. 24, 6 p.m., at Selby Gardens’ downtown campus; part of Selby Gardens’ “Lichtenstein Nights” concert series  
• Wednesday, March 3, 6 p.m., at Historic Spanish Point
• An additional date in May to be announced at Selby Gardens 
Each program will feature a celebrated Hermitage artist (or artists) to be announced.
The Chicago Tribune has hailed ElSaffar, a Hermitage Fellow, as “one of the most promising figures in jazz today.” As part of “Triple Current: Music of Arabia & America,” ElSaffar will preview a new work that is set to premiere in November in New York. ElSaffar’s piece, commissioned by the Jazz Coalition, uses the currents of electronics as they’ve never been used before. Sarasota audiences will be the first to hear this brand new work. 
Su Byron
Public Relations
The Hermitage Retreat