Yesterday, we had the privilege of hosting a Woodwind masterclass with the incredible Emma Johnson at RMS. We also welcomed pupils from Merchant Taylors and Watford Girls.
Emma Johnson is one of the few clarinettists to have established a career as a solo performer. She grew up in London, and her career was launched when, at the age of 17, she won BBC Young Musician of the Year, followed by the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York. She studied Music and English at Pembroke College, Cambridge, before embarking on a full-time music career. Since then, she has performed all over the world.
Emma has made 30 recordings to date; tracks from her recent album with the BBC Concert Orchestra, English Fantasy, have been streamed 5 million times on Spotify. Voyage and The Mozart Album on the Universal label were also classical chart-topping successes, and Johnson’s CD of Brahms sonatas, along with her recording of Stanford and Finzi Concertos, was nominated for a Gramophone Award.
During the masterclass, each pupil performed a piece of their choice to Emma Johnson and their peers. Emma provided individual feedback, breaking the performances down into sections, demonstrating new techniques, and refining their performances.
A big thank you to the Music department for organising such an incredible event and to Emma Johnson for inspiring our pupils and helping them refine their performances.