John Ferguson

John Ferguson is a pianist, teacher, and Executive Director of American Voices. He currently resides in San Francisco. 

John began his music studies at the High School for the Performing Arts in Houston, Texas, and completed his education at the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his Master’s Degree. Further studies took him to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, to Geneva with Maroussia le Marc’hadour, and to Carnegie-Mellon University where he earned a License in Dalcroze Eurhythmics with Dr. Marta Sanchez. His piano teachers have included Danielle Martin, Eugene List, and Edith Lateiner-Grosz.

In 1992, John founded American Voices to meet the need for authentic cultural engagement programs with the newly independent nations of Central and Eastern Europe and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union. Since then, American Voices has expanded its focus to include nations emerging from conflict or isolation. In 2007, he founded the innovative summer youth performing program, YES Academy, in Iraq. This program has since expanded to Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria, Liberia, Uganda, and many other nations. YES Academy programs have been featured on ABC Nightly News, Al Jazeera International, PRI Radio’s ‘The World’, and CNN, reaching millions in local broadcasts in the YES Academy nations. Additionally, John founded the first international jazz festivals in Azerbaijan (The Caspian Jazz and Blues Festival, 2002-2005) and Kazakhstan (Almaty International Jazz Festival, 2003-2004).

John’s innovative work in cultural engagement received national recognition at the Summit for U.S. Citizen Diplomacy in November 2010, where American Voices was named one of the ‘Top Ten Best Practices Organizations’ alongside Sundance Institute and the Kennedy Center. American Voices currently implements two large-scale international touring programs, Arts Envoy and American Music Abroad for the U.S. Department of State.

John’s performing activities include concerts, broadcasts, and masterclasses in over 125 nations across Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. With a keen interest in engaging with nations emerging from conflict or isolation, he has performed in El Salvador, Belarus, Kosovo, Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. His recital appearance in Rome was praised by the Corriere Della Sera as ‘…one of the most intense moments of the evening…’.

As a concert performer, John has appeared in prestigious venues such as Rome’s Teatro Della Colosseo, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Radio France in Paris, and Bonn’s Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle. His festival appearances include the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation’s “Flâneries de Reims”, Germany’s “Altmark Musikfest”, “A(r)tlantische Tage”, and “American Music Week-Bonn”. His radio and television broadcasts have reached millions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Germany, France, and India, among others.

John’s recordings include ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ with the Junge Philharmonie Thüringen and ‘Saxofolies’ for EPM. He has produced and directed several recordings on the American Voices label, including ‘Jazz Bridges Afghanistan’, ‘American Voices Around the World’, ‘Jazz Bridges Burma’, and ‘Jazz Mugham Bridges Azerbaijan’. In 2008, he participated in the documentary film *Camp Unity* by Ryan White, about the YES Academy Iraq program. The film won top awards at the Philadelphia and San Luis Obispo Film Festivals and was officially selected for the Montreal Film Festival.

John returned to the U.S. in 2020 after 31 years abroad in Paris, Amsterdam, and Bangkok. Recently, he has focused on programs benefiting U.S. young performing artists and audiences, including new initiatives such as Hip Hop in the Concert Hall, the touring production Heart of Afghanistan, and the Engage the Globe cultural diplomacy training program. 

As a speaker on cultural diplomacy and engagement, John has been a guest at institutions such as the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin, Harvard University, George Washington University, Juilliard-Tianjin, New England Conservatory, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the University of Texas at Austin. In 2025, he will launch the Engage the Globe program with his colleague Dr. Amr Selim, a unique and innovative training program in cultural diplomacy and engagement. This program will equip participants with the necessary tools to plan, implement, and fundraise for meaningful cultural exchange and engagement initiatives internationally. His opinion pieces have been published in The Christian Science Monitor and distributed internationally.

John remains dedicated to providing training, mentorship, and engagement opportunities to the next generation of young performers, teachers, and cultural leaders. He is passionately committed to cultural diplomacy and engagement programs that offer substantive and meaningful experiences to youth around the world, creating ever deeper and broader international networks, and fostering a deep mutual appreciation through cultural exchange.