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at the cathedrals of Cologne and Regensburg in Germany, St. Paul's Cathedral in London and the Royal Opera House of Muscat, Oman, the release points out. She has played at major universities and concert halls in the United States, among them Davies Hall (San Francisco), Disney Hall (Los Angeles), the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), the Wanamaker Organ (Philadelphia), Yale University and the Eastman School of Music, the release adds. A native of Quebec, Demers is organ profes- sor and head of the organ program at Baylor University, the release notes. She began studying piano and organ at the Montreal Conservatory of Music when she was 11. After graduation, she studied in Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and then received her master's and doctoral degrees from Juilliard, the release adds. While in New York, she studied with Paul Jacobs, a Grammy winner and the chairman of Juilliard's organ department. Advance ticket purchase is highly recom- mended, the release points out. Tickets are $20; they may be purchased online at redeem- ersarasota.org or by calling the parish office at 955-4263. The Church of the Redeemer is located at 222 S. Palm Ave. in downtown Sarasota. The Hermitage Artist Retreat invites the public to its Manasota Beach campus to meet its artists, tour visual arts studios and hear writers read from their works an hour before sunset on Friday, March 28, the retreat has announced. The event will begin at 6 p.m., when visual art- ists Bradley Wester and Nzuji De Magalhaes will open their studios to showcase and talk about their work, a news release says. At 7 p.m., the attention will shift to the beach, where playwright Y York and novelist Ann Hood will read from and talk about their works, the release notes. "Sunset will end the evening's activities" about 7:50 p.m., the release adds. Sarasota's Bookstore1 will have represen- tatives on hand to assist anyone interested in purchasing an autographed copy of Ann Hood's novels, including The Obituary Writer and The Knitting Circle. Hood also will participate in a reading at Bookstore1 on Wednesday, March 26, at 6 p.m., the release points out. The Hermitage is located at 6660 Manasota Key Road in Englewood. On his website, Wester says, "My work has evolved into a hybrid-practice that com- bines painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, and digital imaging into larger works/instal- lations with particular and unique reference to color and light and to physical space," the release continues. De Magalhaes was born and reared in Angola, whose culture is reflected in her work, the release adds. She depicts vividly stereotypical issues, post-colonial discourse, myth, ethnic- ity, politics and other genres in her art, the release says. York writes plays for both adults and children, many of which have been produced in regional theaters throughout the United States, the ART, DRAMA AND A BEST-SELLING NOVELIST TO BE FEATURED Sarasota News Leader March 21, 2014 Page 117