The Merian Ensemble | Listen: Works by Women 2024

• Christina Smith, flute
• Emily Brebach, oboe & english horn
• Marci Gurnow, clarinet & bass clarinet
• Jessica Oudin, viola
• Elizabeth Remy Johnson, harp

The Merian Ensemble is a chamber music group dedicated to its "Listen: Works by Women" initiatives, promoting the standard of a more inclusive repertoire through performances and commissions. This concert will feature works by historic and modern female composers including Sea-shore Suite, Op. 3b by Ruth Gipps; Berceuse by Amy Beach Breathing Underwater by Danielle Eva Schwob; and more.

About Emory University Music Department

The Department of Music at Emory recognizes the many and varied manifestations of music and hears in them a powerful means of understanding the human experience.

The mission of the department is to provide a dynamic and ever-changing environment in which students, faculty, and the greater Atlanta community can encounter music through performance, creation, listening, reflection, and analysis. We fulfill our mission by offering a broad array of courses and experiences in which students make and study many different kinds of music.

About Merian Ensemble

The Merian Ensemble is a chamber music group dedicated to raising the standard for an inclusive repertoire. The group was formed in 2018 by five women musicians from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, determined to counteract the striking dearth in women composers programmed in classical music settings. Through their "Listen: Works by Women" initiatives, the Merian Ensemble performs the abundant repertoire of music by women and commissions a new work each year.

In addition to traditional concerts, they give outreach performances for school-age children and presentations at libraries and public spaces throughout Atlanta. Their performances have been featured over 20 times on NPR's "Performance Today," and they were a recipient of a travel grant from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International.

About Christina Smith, flute

Principal Flute of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Christina Smith is one of the most sought-after flutists in the country as an orchestral player, soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. Smith's flute solos can be heard on 37 ASO recordings. She has also appeared with the orchestra numerous times as a concerto soloist.

About Emily Brebach, oboe & english horn

Emily Brebach joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra playing English horn and oboe in the fall of 2012.

Brebach, a Philadelphia native, has performed with several orchestras throughout the United States, including the Boston Symphony, Houston Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Sarasota Opera. Prior to joining the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Brebach held the position of English horn and oboe with the Sarasota Orchestra.

Brebach is an Artist Affiliate Instructor of Oboe at Emory University, a faculty member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Talent Development Program, and also maintains an active private studio. Brebach holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Rice University's Shepherd School of Music.

About Marci Gurnow, clarinet & bass clarinet

Marci Gurnow has been the second clarinetist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since September 2016. She came to Atlanta after a season as the acting second clarinet with the Detroit Symphony and prior to that she was the second and bass clarinetist with the Jacksonville Symphony. She has performed as a guest with other major orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, and Dallas Symphony. In addition, she spends her summers as second clarinet with the Bellingham Festival Orchestra and clarinet/ bass clarinet with the Grand Teton Music Festival.

She has participated in numerous other music festivals including the Bravo! Vail Festival, Highlands Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. Marci is also a founding member of the International Chamber Artists based in Chicago, where she recently performed on a Live from WFMT broadcast. Marci earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Southern Methodist University and her Master of Music degree from Northwestern University.

About Jessica Oudin, viola

Jessica Oudin joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Viola Section in January 2011. Ms. Oudin has been a frequent substitute with both The Cleveland Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra and has in addition performed with the Baltimore, Houston, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras. During the summer, she serves as the Assistant Principal Violist of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Oudin has appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has collaborated with renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman at both Carnegie Hall and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. With the Kashii String Quartet, she was a Silver Medalist at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and has served on the chamber music faculty for the Innsbrook Music Institute and the Yellow Barn Music School Young Artist Program. She currently performs with the Riverside Chamber Players.

Ms. Oudin maintains a private viola studio, and she currently serves on the faculty of the ASO’s Talent Development Program. She has taught at Reinhardt University, Franklin Pond Chamber Music Program, and has presented a viola master-class at Kennesaw State University.

Ms. Oudin graduated with high honors from The Cleveland Institute of Music and holds a Master's degree from The Juilliard School.

About Elizabeth Remy Johnson, harp

Elisabeth Remy Johnson was appointed principal harpist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 1995. With the Atlanta Symphony, Elisabeth has performed concertos by Debussy, Handel, Mozart, and Ginastera. Winner of first-place awards in competitions of the American Harp Society and the American String Teachers Association, she is also a NFAA/ARTS awardee. She graduated from Harvard University Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in Music and French. Her harp studies were with Ann Hobson Pilot in Boston and Alice Chalifoux at the Salzedo Summer Harp Colony in Camden, Maine. Elisabeth is co-founder of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, a program serving students in the Atlanta Public School system, and was artistic director from 2000 to 2010. For this work she received Atlanta's Channel Eleven Community Service Award and the TBS Pathfinder's Award. In fall of 2009, Elisabeth was awarded the Atlanta Business Chronicle's "Up & Comers Award," also known as "40 under 40," showcasing young community leaders in Atlanta.

In 2018, Elisabeth founded The Merian Ensemble, a group of colleagues from the ASO dedicated to performing and commissioning chamber music composed by women.