Renowned Clarinettist, Emma Johnson, plays at Wycombe Abbey

After a long drought of live music due to lockdown, we were delighted to have Emma Johnson, an internationally celebrated and renowned clarinettist, as our first visiting musician at School. She was accompanied by Mr John Lenehan, one of our visiting piano teachers. To a small group of socially distanced pupils from UIII to LVI, the pair performed a preview of a concert they were giving at Wigmore Hall on 12 June.

Emma began with Mozart’s classic Clarinet Quintet in A, delivering a playful rendition of the Allegretto con variazioni, accompanied by Mr Lenehan’s flair on the piano. This was followed by Weber’s Grand Duo Concertant in E flat, which showcased their stunning technical expertise and sublime attention to detail. Next was the first movement of Poulenc’s Sonata for clarinet and piano, where Emma and Mr Lenehan beautifully expressed the sentiment of Allegro tristamente, a testament to their sophisticated musical sensitivity. Finally, despite arranging scenes from West Side Story by Bernstein entirely through email, their heartfelt and tender delivery of Somewhere almost drove a few girls to tears, though perhaps this was due to the fact that this piece had brought the concert to a close.

It was such a wonderful experience to see Emma perform live – not only does her immersion and passion for the music draw the crowd in, but her rich tone and brilliant musicality bring life to every single piece. She has been a huge inspiration for our music teachers, and, after watching her play, has certainly become one for me as well.

Kelly, LVI