Hailed by critics for her “tonal bloom” and “hauntingly beautiful performances,” English-American performer and composer Emi Ferguson stretches the boundaries of what is expected of modern-day musicians. Emi’s unique approach to the flute can be heard in performances that alternate between the Silver Flute, Historical Flutes, and Auxiliary Flutes, playing repertoire that stretches from the Renaissance to today. Emi is a proud 2023 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and can be heard live in concerts and festivals around the world as a soloist and with groups including AMOC*, Ruckus, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Manhattan Chamber Players. Emi has been named the new music director of Camerata Pacifica Baroque in Southern California, dreaming up programs of and inspired by Baroque music for Californian concert goers. Emi was a featured performer alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon, and James Taylor at the 10th Anniversary Memorial Ceremony of 9/11 at Ground Zero, where her performance of Amazing Grace was televised worldwide. Her performance that day is now part of the permanent collection at the 9/11 Museum. Her debut album, Amour Cruel, an indie-pop song cycle inspired by the music of the 17th century French court was released by Arezzo Music in September 2017, spending 4 weeks on the Classical, Classical Crossover, and World Music Billboard Charts. Her 2019 album Fly the Coop: Bach Sonatas and Preludes, a collaboration with continuo band Ruck-us debuted at #1 on the iTunes classical charts and #2 on the Billboard classical charts, and was called “blindingly impressive...a fizzing, daring display of personality and imagination” by The New York Times. In addition to her solo recordings, Emi has also been featured on recordings for New Focus Records, Old Focus Records, Orchid Classics, Cantaloupe Music, National Sawdust Tracks, Brontosaurus Records, Coro, and MSR Classics. Emi has always been excited about finding new ways for people to embrace classical music. She has spoken and performed at several TEDX events and has been featured on media outlets including The Discovery Channel, Vox’s “Explained” series on Netflix, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and New York’s classical and contemporary radio station, WQXR talking about how music relates to our world today. She has recently been named one of four new hosts for WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase and is also developing new programming for the youngest radio listeners, introducing them to music through exciting stories about composers. As a historical flute player, Emi is a frequent guest soloist with period ensembles including Tafelmusik, Voices of Music, the American Classical Orchestra, and Trinity Baroque Orchestra in addition to her appointment as Principal Flute of the Handel and Haydn Society. Emi is currently on the faculty of the Juilliard School, the Bach Virtuosi Festival, and has taught on the faculty of the University of Buffalo. Born in Japan and raised in London and Boston, she now resides in New York.