The Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Philadelphia-based Greenfield Foundation have awarded the New York-based composer and performer, Helga Davis, with the 2019 Greenfield Prize, given this year in music. Davis receives a residency at the Hermitage and a $30,000 commission for a new work, which will premiere in Sarasota in 2021 with the presenting partner, ensembleNEWSRQ. Davis was principal actor in the 25th-anniversary international revival of Robert Wilson and Philip Glass's seminal opera Einstein on the Beach. Among the collaborative and works written for her are Oceanic Verses by Paola Prestini, You Us We All by Shara Nova and Andrew Ondrejcak, and Faust's Box by Italian contemporary music composer Andrea Liberovici. Current projects include Silent Voices with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus with text by Hilton Als; Requiem for a Tuesday with bass-baritone Davóne Tines and dancer/choreographer Reggie Gray; and Yet Unheard, a tribute to Sandra Bland by Courtney Bryan, based on the poem by Sharan Strange. Davis was selected by a jury that included Limor Tomer, general manager for concerts and lectures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Terrance McKnight, a WQXR host and accomplished pianist and educator; and Karen Sander, director of public programs for The Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Hermitage Artist Retreat