Emi Ferguson

Ferguson plays both baroque and modern flute around the world as a soloist and with groups.[6] In January 2019, Ferguson became the Principal Flute for the Handel and Haydn Society.[7] She currently performs with several other groups, ensembles, and orchestras as well, including the New York New Music Ensemble, American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*), Tafelmusik, and Manhattan Chamber Players. She has also previously performed with the Argento Chamber Ensemble, New York Baroque Incorporated, and New Vintage Baroque.[8]

Ferguson likes to fuse different music genres together as well as music from different centuries. She is frequently applauded for her "unique approach to the flute"[9] and for her ability to "stretch the boundaries of baroque music."[10]

She has released two solo albums. In September 2017, she released her debut album, Amour Cruel, on which she is the flutist, composer, singer, and arranger. Described as a crossover between indie pop and classical,[2] the album was on the Classical, Classical Crossover, and World Music Billboard Charts for four weeks. A classical music critic from The Washington Post described the album as "a modern hit"[11][12] and The Boston Globe described Amour Cruel as sounding like "what would happen if Lana del Rey ended up at Louis XIV's court."[13]

In June 2019, she released her second album, Fly the Coop: Bach Sonatas and Precludes with the group Ruckus Early Music. The album debuted at #1 on the iTunes Classical Charts and at #2 on the Classical Albums and Traditional Classical Billboard Charts.[14] Classical Radio Boston characterized the album as "unleash[ing] the kind of unexpected music-making that must have delighted and tickled audiences in Bach’s day" and notes that Ferguson "jams with sheer dazzle."[10]

She currently is on faculty at Juilliard, where she teaches Ear Training, as well as at the Bach Virtuosi Festival. She has previously taught at the University at Buffalo.[15]