Gainesville’s Emmanuel Garilus makes history at the Apollo Theater
Published on June 26, 2025
Photo by AGNYC Productions for The Apollo.
The City of Gainesville’s One Nation One Project (ONOP) GNV Talent Search Winner Emmanuel Garilus joined the ranks of Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown and Lauryn Hill with a spectacular saxophone performance June 25 that won the 90th season of Amateur Night at the Apollo. This achievement marks the first time in memory a contestant has taken first place at each of the four competition levels, and is thought to be the first time the grand prize has gone to an instrumental musician.
Introduced in 1934, Amateur Night is known as one of New York City’s most popular live entertainment experiences, attracting artists from around the world to the legendary Harlem theater. Garilus played Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” and winning the final round of the nation’s longest-running talent show has left him feeling both blessed and overwhelmed.
“Just everything — it’s a humbling process,” Garilus said in a conversation with Gainesville City Manager Cynthia W. Curry, who called with congratulations shortly after his win. “Just to see what God has been doing in my life and where he’s taking me. I’m in awe, honestly.”
Garilus began his Apollo journey last summer when he decided to audition for a citywide youth talent search led by ONOP GNV Artistic Director and long-time Amateur Night producer Marion Caffey. The One Nation One Project initiative was championed on the Gainesville City Commission by Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker, and it soon became a critically important project supported by a portion of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
As a Gainesville native, Caffey was convinced the best way to conclude the city’s two-year ONOP project, which focused on using culture and the arts to reduce youth gun violence, was by celebrating young performers. Garilus won that talent search and was awarded an all-expense-paid trip to New York City to perform at the Apollo.
“He really has something special,” Caffey said. “He has an unquantifiable connection to that saxophone and the audience. They love him. He doesn’t overplay. He’s modest. He’s humble. But when he’s onstage it’s really extraordinary.”
As winner of the Grand Finale, Garilus will receive the top prize of $20,000; his and hers special edition Bulova watches designed by the company as a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald in honor of her history at the Apollo; and a weeklong professional development experience in Los Angeles working with producers at the Coca Cola recording studios.
This is the latest in a growing list of accomplishments for the Gainesville musician and 2021 graduate of the University of Florida’s Arts in Medicine Program. Garilus was a featured performer on the City of Gainesville float in the 2024 A Very GNV Holiday Parade and has been appointed as a consultant to the city’s Cultural Affairs Board. His performances have over one-million views on YouTube and more than 100,000 monthly listeners, a reach that will only expand as he continues to inspire audiences around the world.