New York's advocacy and service organization for early music ensembles and enthusiasts.
03/29/2025
Ahead of her appearance in GEMSTalks: Emi Ferguson on Monday, learn more about flutist Emi Ferguson.
Emi Ferguson is on a mission to shake up classical music. Whether playing modern or historical flutes, singing, composing, or speaking about music, she brings centuries of music to life with an adventurous spirit and a fresh perspective.
A 2023 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Emi thrives as both a soloist and a collaborator, appearing at major festivals and concert halls around the world. She performs regularly with AMOC*, Ruckus, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Handel and Haydn Society (where she is principal flute), and the Manhattan Chamber Players. As music director of Camerata Pacifica Baroque, she curates bold, genre-defying programs that highlight the Baroque for Southern California audiences.
Her recordings reflect her curiosity and willingness to push boundaries. Her debut album, Amour Cruel, an indie-pop song cycle inspired by 17th-century French music, spent four weeks on the Classical, Classical Crossover, and World Music Billboard charts. Fly the Coop: Bach Sonatas and Preludes, her 2019 collaboration with Ruckus, debuted at #1 on the iTunes classical charts and #2 on the Billboard classical charts, earning praise from The New York Times as “blindingly impressive... a fizzing, daring display of personality and imagination.”
As a historical flutist, Emi regularly performs with ensembles like Tafelmusik, Voices of Music, the American Classical Orchestra, and Trinity Baroque Orchestra. She was the only flutist accepted into Juilliard’s inaugural Historical Performance class and became the first student to earn Undergraduate and Graduate degrees with Scholastic Distinction (for her simultaneous studies in Epidemiology) in flute performance. She later earned a second Graduate degree in Historical Performance as a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow.
As an educator, Emi has served on the faculties of The Juilliard School, the Bach Virtuosi Festival, and the University at Buffalo. Born in Japan and raised in London and Boston, she now resides in New York.
Source: Edited from https://www.emiferguson.com/bio
Photo Credit: Fay Fox Studios
