Emma Johnson (clarinetist) - Early Career

Early Career

Emma Johnson was born on 20 May 1966 at Barnet in Hertfordshire. She attended Newstead Wood School for Girls, Orpington and Sevenoaks School, learning the clarinet with John Brightwell. She joined the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain at the age of 15. In 1984, she won the BBC Young Musician of the Year title, performing Crusell's Second Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Bryden Thomson. She went on to represent Britain at the European Young Musician Competition where she was awarded the Bronze Award. She made her London debut at the Barbican Hall, playing the Mozart Concerto with the English Chamber Orchestra on 10 February 1985.DEShe chose not to go to music college, but went to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where she studied English, then Music. While there, she had clarinet lessons with Sidney Fell and Jack Brymer. During this period, she combined her studies with a burgeoning professional career, appearing regularly in concerts in Britain and abroad. By the time she was in her third year at university she had performed at all the principal concert halls in Britain and with most of the professional orchestras. She had also made many television appearances and signed an exclusive recording contract with ASV Records, for whom she went on to record more than a dozen best-selling discs.