Emma Johnson is one of the few clarinettists to have established an international career as a soloist. Emma has performed across Europe, the USA and the Far East, as well as in Africa and Australia in venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Concertgebouw, the Louvre and the Barbican. In Britain she has achieved particular popularity - her two recent discs on the Universal label, Voyage and The Mozart Album, spent many weeks at the top of the Classical Charts.
Emma grew up in London and began to study the clarinet at the age of nine. In 1984 she won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition and was a medal winner in the Eurovision Young Musician, televised throughout Europe. Later she was to be a winner of the Young Concert Artist Auditions in New York. These competitions launched Emma's musical career whilst she was still at school, but she decided to study Music and English at Cambridge University before embarking full-time on musical life.
One of the chief inspirations for Emma's music-making is listening to great singers. When she plays the clarinet she tries to emulate the expressive power of the human voice. Her goal has been to get better acceptance for the clarinet as a solo classical instrument, and she is known for drawing upon a wide range of musical expression in her concerts. The Daily Telegraph wrote in May 2008 "To make a successful career as a solo clarinettist is especially hard, but Emma Johnson has managed it."
Emma Johnson has appeared as soloist with many leading orchestras including the London Symphony, Philharmonia, Hallé, Tokyo Philharmonic, Salzburg Camerata and Netherlands Philharmonic in repertoire which includes over forty different concertos. A new development in Emma's career has seen her being invited not only to direct from the clarinet, but also to conduct orchestras such as the London Mozart Players and the Royal Philharmonic.
Emma is also in demand as a recitalist and chamber musician. She has collaborated with quartets such as the Takacs, Brodsky and Contempo and she is director of her own ensemble, Emma Johnson and Friends, a versatile wind and string group.
Emma has achieved great success as a recording artist with over 20 discs to her name. Her Finzi Concerto CD was nominated for a Gramophone Award and Pastoral was a CD of the year in the BBC Music Magazine. Details of her recordings as well as her concert schedule are available on Emma's website.
Emma's TV appearances have ranged from prime time chat shows to gala concerts with Cleo Laine and Yehudi Menuhin. Radio appearances include Artist of the Week on both BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. She enjoys writing about music and has presented various feature programmes, including most recently a Radio 4 broadcast about the composer, Gerald Finzi which was chosen for Pick of the Week. The theme tune played by Emma for the Victorian Kitchen Garden series on BBC television became a popular hit.
Although she lacks the time to teach on a regular basis, Emma has given masterclasses in many countries and was previously a visiting professor at the Royal College of Music in London. Her new clarinet course based on her masterclass teaching is available from www.icanplayit.com. Several books of Emma's compositions and arrangements for clarinet have been published by Chester Music, Fabers and Kevin Mayhew.
As well as the traditional repertoire, Emma takes an interest in contemporary composers. Her recording of Michael Berkeley's challenging Clarinet Concerto received widespread critical acclaim. John Dankworth has written several jazz-inspired works for Emma including a clarinet concerto premiered at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She is currently collaborating on new works with Will Todd and Stephen Barlow.
A patron of ClicSargent, the childhood cancer charity, Emma has supported a number of good causes through her concerts. She was recently the first woman to be made an honorary fellow of Pembroke College Cambridge and in 1996 Emma was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to music.
Emma lives in London with her double bass playing husband, Chris West, and their young daughter, Georgina.
Emma Johnson has played Peter Eaton clarinets since 1984 and we made a bassett clarinet especially for her in 1998. "Peter Eaton clarinets offer unparalleled potential for nuance and expression; they give me the freedom to play how I want to play."
Clarinets Mouthpieces Peter Eaton Pipers interview Clarinet Care UK/EU Prices Export Prices Contacts Links
