Emma Johnson
Woodwind final
Emma Johnson is one of the few clarinettists to have established a busy career as a solo performer. She is one of the UK's biggest selling classical artists, having sold over half a million albums worldwide. She has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras and has collaborated with artists such as Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Dame Cleo Laine, Julian Lloyd Webber, Lesley Garrett, the Takacs Quartet, Michelangelo Quartet, Pascal Rogé and John Lill. She is director of Emma Johnson and Friends, a versatile wind and string group, and is increasingly in demand to give talks about music and to curate concert series. Her programmes about Gerald Finzi and John Milton on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 were both chosen as Pick of the Week.
Emma was a professor at the Royal College of Music and has given masterclasses in many countries. Her TV appearances range from a recital for Sky Arts TV to prime-time chat shows and gala concerts. Her radio work includes Artist of the Week for both Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3 and Classic FM.
Emma grew up in London and her career was launched when in 1984 at the age of 17 she won Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Young Musician of the Year followed by the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York. However she decided to study Music and English at Cambridge University before embarking fulltime on a musical path. Emma was the first woman to be made an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge where in 2017 a portrait of her was commissioned to hang in the main hall. She was honoured by the Queen with an MBE in 1996. Emma plays an instrument made by the English clarinet maker, Peter Eaton.
