EMMA JOHNSON – Clarinet
Emma Johnson is one of the few clarinettists to have established a career as a solo performer which has taken her to venues all over the world. Emma grew up in London and her career was launched when at the age of 17 she won BBC Young Musicians in front of a TV audience of 12 million, followed by the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York.
Johnson has made 30 recordings to date; her album English Fantasy has been streamed 5 million times on Spotify whilst Voyage and The Mozart Album both reached the top of the classical charts. She recently released a recording with Gloucester Cathedral choir of her own composition, Songs of Celebration. A passionate advocate of the clarinet as a solo instrument, Emma has commissioned new works from composers such as Sir John Dankworth, Sir Michael Berkeley and Jonathan Dove. She also enjoys giving concerts with her own group, Emma Johnson and Friends and is known for her eclectic programming which has ranged from Mozart with Sir Yehudi Menuhin to Klezmer at the Jazz Café and Jazz with Dame Cleo Laine.
Emma Johnson’s compositions and arrangements have been published by Chesters and Faber Music. Her composition for clarinet and choir, Songs of Celebration, was recently performed in Dublin, London and Tokyo and her clarinet concerto, Tree of Life, a response to the climate emergency, is touring in 2024.
In 2020 she received the Cobbett Medal from the Musicians’ Company Guild in the City of London for distinguished services to chamber music. She was honoured by the Queen with an M.B.E. in 1996.
Emma Johnson plays a clarinet made by the English instrument maker, Peter Eaton.
In her spare time, Emma likes running and birdwatching – but not necessarily at the same time!
For more details please visit www.emmajohnson.co.uk
Follow Emma on Twitter: @ClarinetEmmaJ
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PROGRAMME
Emma Johnson – Three Perspectives (Echoes – Solace – Senegal Spirit)
Schumann – Fantasiestucke Op.73 (Zart und mit Ausdruck – Rasch und mit Feuer)
Poulenc – Clarinet Sonata
Interval
Rebecca Clarke – Impetuoso
Mozart – Larghetto and Variations K581a
Bliss – Pastoral
Bechet – Petite Fleur
Ellington – Medley