Emi Ferguson

BFA Young Artist Alum Emi Ferguson

Honorary Alum

Flutist Emi Ferguson is the 1st Prize winner of the 2009 New York Flute Club Young Artist competition and the 2009 J.C. Arriaga Chamber Music Competition.  She has been featured as a soloist with the Art Symphony Orchestra, AXIOM, New Juilliard, and New England String Ensembles, playing solos ranging from Vivaldi to Berio.  Equally at home amidst an orchestra as well as in front of one, Ms. Ferguson has played Principal Flute with The Juilliard Orchestra, the New Juilliard Ensemble, and the Arcos Chamber Orchestra, playing under Maestros James Levine, Pierre Boulez, Jeffrey Milarsky, Zhang Xian, Joel Sachs, Federico Cortese, Alan Gilbert, and James Conlon.

A passionate member of the new music community, Ms. Ferguson was invited to join Pierre Boulez and the Lucerne Festival Academy in the 2008 summer season, performing works of Stravinsky, Berio, Boulez, Carter, and Messiaen in Lucerne, Switzerland.  Earlier that season, Ms. Ferguson was selected to participate in the 2008 Juilliard Orchestra tour of China, where she was featured as a soloist and chamber musician playing works by American composer Elliott Carter in Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou.  Ms. Ferguson continued to share her passion for contemporary music with people across the globe as a member of the New Juilliard Ensemble’s trip to Japan in June 2009, when she was a featured performer and guest panelist discussing Elliott Carter’s music at the Tokyo American Center.

At home in New York, Ms. Ferguson is a member of many local ensembles, including the AXIOM Ensemble, JuilliArd 415, New Paths New Music, New York Chamber Virtuosi, Opus 9, Art Symphony and Arcos Chamber Orchestras, and the PUFF! Quintet, an ensemble she co-founded with fellow members Jennifer Christen, Xiang-yu Zhou, Benjamin Moermond, and James Ferree.

An avid composer herself, Ms. Ferguson has given numerous premieres of her own works in addition to those of prominent contemporary composers in recitals in Boston and New York City.

Complementing her modern flute playing, Ms. Ferguson is also an accomplished Baroque flute (traverso) player.  Ms. Ferguson is a member of the inaugural Historical Performance class at the Juilliard School, where she has performed alongside William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, and has studied with Sandra Miller, Stephen Schultz, and Serge Saitta.

In her time away from the flute, Ms. Ferguson is extremely passionate about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and is pursuing her interest in Epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.  Born in Japan and raised in London and Boston, she now resides in New York City.

Ms. Ferguson received her Bachelor of Music Degree from The Juilliard School, studying with Robert Langevin and Carol Wincenc.  She is currently pursuing both her Master of Music degree in Baroque Flute Performance studying with Sandra Miller.  Before moving to New York, Ms. Ferguson studied with Judy Grant in Boston for 8 years.

In 2011, Ms. Ferguson was selected to perform at New York City’s memorial service on September 11 as one of four soloists, alongside Yo Yo Ma, James Taylor, and Paul Simon.  Her performance of “Amazing Grace” was broadcasted worldwide to millions of viewers.  Click here to see the video.